Chief Justice of Ghana

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The Chief Justice of Ghana is the highest judge of the Supreme Court of Ghana. The Chief Justice is also the head of the Judiciary of Ghana and is responsible for its administration and supervision.^[1] In order of state precedence, the Chief Justice is the fourth highest official in Ghana.^[2]

Historical background

The Supreme Court Ordinance of 1876 ended the 10-year absence of a Supreme Court, establishing a Supreme Court of Judicature for the Gold Coast Colony. The court consisted of the Chief Justice and not more than four puisne judges.^[3] This led to the appointment of the first Chief Justice, Sir David Patrick Chalmers by the British colonial authorities in 1876. The nature of the office of Chief Justice evolved with the years. The 1954 Gold Coast constitution provided for the Chief Justice to be appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister while other judges and judicial officers were appointed on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission.^[4] Under the 1957 Ghana constitution, on the attainment of independence, the Chief Justice and all superior justices were appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister as the Judicial Service Commission was abolished.^[5] Sir Kobina Arku Korsah became the first Ghanaian Chief Justice.^[6] Under the 1969 constitution, the Chief Justice was appointed by the President acting in consultation with the Council of State.^[7] The office has not changed much since the 1979 constitution though the court system underwent a lot of changes under various military governments between 1972 and 1993.^[8]

Appointment and office tenure

The Chief Justice is appointed by the President of Ghana in consultation with the Council of State of Ghana and with the approval of the Parliament of Ghana.^[9] A person qualified to be the Chief Justice of Ghana must be of a high moral character and have proven integrity,. S/he must have been a lawyer for at least fifteen years to have been eligible for appointment to the Supreme Court in the first place.^[10] Where the office of the Chief Justice is vacant or the Chief Justice is incapacitated and unable to carry out his duties, the most senior of the Justices of the Supreme Court is expected to act in his place until he is able to resume or a new substantive Chief Justice is appointed by the President.^[11] The Chief Justice and any other justice of the Superior Courts may voluntarily retire on reaching the age of 60 years^[12] or stay on till the compulsory retiring age of 70 years.^[13]

Supreme Court and other superior courts

Main article: Supreme Court of Ghana

The Supreme Court consists of the Chief Justice and at least nine other judges. The Chief Justice is expected to preside at all sittings of the Supreme Court whenever he or she is present.^[14] The Chief Justice oversees the administration of the Court of Appeal of which he or she is the most senior member.^[15] He or she is also a member and administrator of the High Court^[16] and the Regional Tribunals.^[17]

Judicial Council

The Chief Justice is the chairman of the Judicial Council of Ghana. The council is expected to propose judicial reforms to the Ghana government to help improve the level of administration of justice and efficiency in the Judiciary. It is also expected to be a forum to enhance the administration of justice in Ghana.^[18]

Other duties

Administer the Presidential oath and the Vice Presidential oaths before parliament prior to both assuming their offices.^[19]
Administer the oath of allegiance and the judicial oathto all justices of the Superior Courts or designate someone to act in his stead.^[20]
Chairman of the Rules of Court Committee which makes rules regulating the practice and procedure of all courts in Ghana.^[21]
To set up a tribunal to resolve grievances against the Electoral Commission of Ghana.^[22]
Convene and chair a tribunal to oversee proceedings relating to the removal of the President of Ghana from office.^[23]
Appoint Judicial officers on the advice of the Judicial Council and subject to the approval of the President.^[24]

Current Chief Justice

Main article: Georgina Theodora Wood

The current Chief Justice is Georgina Theodora Wood. The Parliament of Ghana approved her nomination on 1 June 2007^[25] following the death of George Kingsley Acquah on March 25, 2007.^[26] She becomes Ghana's first female Chief Justice. Justice Francis Yaonasu Kpegah, the most senior of the Supreme Court judges acted as Chief Justice between March 2007 and June 2007.^[11] He handed over to Georgina Wood on 15 June 2007.^[27]

Early Chief Justices (and Judicial Assessors)

1853–?1854 James Coleman Fitzpatrick ^[28]
1854–1857 Henry Connor ^[29]
1861–1866 William Hackett (acting 1861–1863)^[30]
1868 William Alexander Parker

Chief Justices of the Supreme Court

Since its inception in 1876, the Supreme Court has had 24 Chief Justices, including 12 in the Gold Coast era.^[31]^[32]


Chief Justice	Time frame	Period
Sir David Patrick Chalmers	1876 - 1878	Gold Coast
P. A. Smith	1878 - 1879	Gold Coast
Sir James Marshall	1880 - 1882	Gold Coast
N. Lessingham Bailey	1882 - 1886	Gold Coast
H. W Macleod^[33]	1886 - 1889	Gold Coast
Sir Joseph Turner Hutchinson,^[34]^[35]	1889 - 1895	Gold Coast
Francis Smith (acting)^[36]^[37]	1895	Gold Coast
Sir William Brandford Griffith	1895 - 1911	Gold Coast
Philip Crampton Smyly	1911 - 1928	Gold Coast
Sir George Campbell Deane	1929 - 1935	Gold Coast
Sir Philip Bertie Petrides	1936 - 1943	Gold Coast
Sir Walter Harrangin	1943 - 1947	Gold Coast
Sir Mark Wilson	1948 - 1956	Gold Coast
Sir Kobina Arku Korsah	1956 - 5 March 1957	Gold Coast

Chief Justice	Time frame	Period
Sir Kobina Arku Korsah	6 March 1957 - 1963	Ghana - 1st Republic
J. Sarkodee-Addo	1964 - 1966	Ghana - 1st Republic
Edward Akufo-Addo	1966 - 1969	military rule^[5] (1966-1969)
Edward Akufo-Addo	1969 - 1970	2nd Republic
Edmund Alexander Lanquaye Bannerman^[7]	1970 -1972	2nd Republic
Samuel Azu Crabbe	1973 - 1977	military rule^[38]
Fred Kwasi Apaloo	1977 - 1986	military rule (1977-1979)
		3rd Republic^[8] (24 September 1979 - 31 December 1981)
		^[a]military rule^[8] (31 December 1981 – 1986)
E. N. P. Sowah	1986 - 1990	military rule
Philip Edward Archer	1991 - 1993	military rule (1991-1993)
Philip Edward Archer	1993 - 1995	4th Republic
Isaac Kobina Abban	1995 - 21 April 2001
Edward Kwame Wiredu	2001 - 2003
George Kingsley Acquah	4 July 2003 - 25 March 2007
Georgina Theodora Wood	^[27] 15 June 2007 - incumbent

Notes

^{^} The Supreme Court was left intact under this military regime. See.^[7]

References

↑ 1992 Constitution of Ghana Article 125(4).
↑ 1992 Constitution of Ghana Article 57 (2).
↑ "Historical Development of the Courts before Independence". Judicial Service of Ghana. p. 2. Archived from the original on 2007-10-06. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
↑ "Historical Development of the Courts before Independence". Judicial Service of Ghana. p. 3. Archived from the original on 2007-10-06. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
1 2 "Historical Development of the Courts after Independence". Official Website. Judicial Service of Ghana. p. 1. Archived from the original on 2007-10-06. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
↑ "Colonial Rule in Ghana". Ghana.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2007-05-29. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
1 2 3 "Historical Development of the Courts after Independence". Official Website. Judicial Service of Ghana. p. 2. Archived from the original on 2007-10-06. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
1 2 3 "Historical Development of the Courts After Independence". Official Website. Judicial Service of Ghana. p. 3. Archived from the original on 2007-10-06. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
↑ 1992 Constitution of Ghana Article 144 (1).
↑ 1992 Constitution of Ghana Article 128 (4).
1 2 1992 Constitution of Ghana Article 144 (6).
↑ 1992 Constitution of Ghana Article 145 (1).
↑ 1992 Constitution of Ghana Article 145 (2)(a).
↑ 1992 Constitution of Ghana Article 128 (1) and (3).
↑ 1992 Constitution of Ghana Article 136.
↑ 1992 Constitution of Ghana Article 139.
↑ 1992 Constitution of Ghana Article 142.
↑ 1992 Constitution of Ghana Article 153.
↑ "Second Schedule". 1992 Constitution of Ghana. Ghana Review International. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
↑ 1992 Constitution of Ghana Article 156.
↑ 1992 Constitution of Ghana Article 157.
↑ 1992 Constitution of Ghana Article 48 (1)
↑ 1992 Constitution of Ghana Article 69.
↑ 1992 Constitution of Ghana Article 148.
↑ "Georgina Wood Approved As CJ". General News of Saturday, 2 June 2007. Ghana Home Page. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
↑ "Death of the Chief Justice of Ghana". Official Website. Judicial Service of Ghana. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
1 2 "Kpegah urges new Chief Justice to unite judges". General News of Friday, 15 June 2007. Ghana Home Page. Retrieved 2007-06-16.
↑ sarbah, John. Fanti National Constitution. p. 163.
↑ Zimmermann, Reinhard. Southern Cross: Civil Law and Common Law in South Africa. p. 110.
↑ "General News, 1877". thetablet. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
↑ "List of Chief Justices". Official Website. Judicial Service of Ghana. Archived from the original on 2007-02-13. Retrieved 2007-03-26.
↑ "New Chief Justice for the Republic of Ghana". Official Website. Judicial Service of Ghana. Archived from the original on 2007-04-03. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
↑ The Law Journal. The Law Journal. 22-1887. London: F.E. Streeten. 1888-01-28. p. 248. Mr. Francis Smith, barrister, has been appointed a Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court of the Gold Coast Colony, in succession to Mr. Justice Macleod, who has been appointed Chief Justice of the Colony.
↑ "Colonial Service Gossip". The Colonies and India. London, England. 1895-03-30. p. 11. Retrieved 2016-09-23. (subscription required (help)). Sir Joseph T. Hutchinson, late Chief Justice of the Gold Coast, has, after a brief holiday, left England to assume the duties of his new office as Chief Justice of Grenada. He is a stranger to the West Indies, but, if previous success counts for anything at all, he is sure of a brilliant career in the service. At present Sir Joseph Hutchinson is proceeding to Grenada on a less salary than that which he received on the Gold Coast, but the advantage of climate no doubt fully compensates him for the small loss of salary.
↑ The London Gazette: no. 26590. p. 342. 18 January 1895. Retrieved 2015-10-16.
↑ "Colonial Service Gossip". The Colonies and India. London. 1895-04-27. p. 12. Retrieved 2016-08-30. (subscription required (help)). The appointment of Chief Justice of the Gold Coast Colony continues to occupy the attention of many officials in search of promotion. It was at one time thought that probably the important office would be given to Mr. Justice Francis Smith, the Senior Puisne Judge of the Gold Coast, who for the past eight years has held that office, previous to which he was Chief Magistrate of the Gambia for eight years. Other names have been mentioned as probable candidates, but it is very unlikely that Sir Joseph Hutchinson's successor will be selected from the present West Coast legal officials.
↑ "Colonial Service Gossip". The Colonies and India. London. 1895-07-06. p. 10. Retrieved 2016-08-31. (subscription required (help)). Mr. Francis Smith, who is at present acting as Chief Justice of the Gold Coast, pending the arrival of Mr. W. Brandford Griffith, is a native of West Africa, and has held the appointment of a Puisne Judge of the Colony for the past eight years.
↑ "History - Summary". Official Website. Judicial Service of Ghana. Archived from the original on 2007-04-03. Retrieved 2007-06-01.

External links

Order of precedence
Preceded by Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana	Chief Justice of Ghana

Chief Justices of Ghana

Nkrumah era	Sir Kobina Arku Korsah J. Sarkodee-Addo

Military rule	Edward Akufo-Addo^† Edmund A.L. Bannerman Samuel Azu Crabbe Fred Apaloo^† E. N. P. Sowah

Democratic era	Philip Edward Archer^† Isaac Kobina Abban Edward Kwame Wiredu George Kingsley Acquah Georgina Wood

^† served in both military and democratic eras

Chief Justices of the Territories of the British Empire and the United Kingdom

Legend: Current territory; Former territory; * Now a Commonwealth realm; Now a member of the Commonwealth of Nations

Europe

Since 1234 England and Wales Since c.1200 Scotland 1175-1921 Ireland 1708–1757 Minorca Since 1713 Gibraltar 1763–1782 Minorca 1798–1802 Minorca 1800–1813 Malta (Protectorate) 1813–1964 Malta (Colony) 1807–1890 Heligoland 1809–1864 Ionian Islands 1878–1960 Cyprus 1921–1937 Irish Free State Since 1922 Northern Ireland

North America

17th century and before		18th century	19th and 20th century

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1. Occupied jointly with the United States.
2. In 1931, Canada and other British dominions obtained self-government through the Statute of Westminster. See Canada's name.
3. Gave up self-rule in 1934, but remained a de jure Dominion until it joined Canada in 1949.

South America

1651–1667 Willoughbyland (Suriname) 1670–1688 Saint Andrew and Providence Islands⁴ 1831–1966 British Guiana (Guyana) Since 1833 Falkland Islands⁵ Since 1908 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands⁵

4. Now the San Andrés y Providencia Department of Colombia. 5. Occupied by Argentina during the Falklands War of April–June 1982.

Africa

17th and 18th centuries	19th century		20th century

Since 1658 Saint Helena¹⁴ 1792–1961 Sierra Leone 1795–1803 Cape Colony	Since 1815 Ascension Island¹⁴ Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha¹⁴ 1806–1910 Cape Colony 1807–1808 Madeira 1810–1968 Mauritius 1816–1965 The Gambia 1856–1910 Natal 1868–1966 Basutoland (Lesotho) 1874–1957 Gold Coast (Ghana) 1882–1922 Egypt	1884–1966 Bechuanaland (Botswana) 1884–1960 British Somaliland 1887–1897 Zululand 1890–1962 Uganda 1890–1963 Zanzibar (Tanzania) 1891–1964 Nyasaland (Malawi) 1891–1907 British Central Africa Protectorate 1893–1968 Swaziland 1895–1920 East Africa Protectorate 1899–1956 Anglo-Egyptian Sudan	1900–1914 Northern Nigeria 1900–1914 Southern Nigeria 1900–1910 Orange River Colony 1900–1910 Transvaal Colony 1903–1976 Seychelles 1906–1954 Nigeria Colony 1910–1931 South Africa 1914–1954 Nigeria Colony and Protectorate 1915–1931 South West Africa (Namibia) 1919–1960 Cameroons (Cameroon)⁶ 1920–1963 Kenya 1922–1961 Tanganyika (Tanzania)⁶ 1923–1965 Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)⁷ 1924–1964 Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) 1953–1963 Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland 1954–1960 Nigeria 1979–1980 Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)⁷

6. League of Nations mandate.
7. Self-governing Southern Rhodesia unilaterally declared independence in 1965 (as Rhodesia) and continued as an unrecognised state until the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement. After recognised independence in 1980, Zimbabwe was a member of the Commonwealth until it withdrew in 2003.

Asia

17th and 18th century	19th century		20th century

1685–1824 Bencoolen (Sumatra) 1702–1705 Pulo Condore 1757-1862 Bengal (to 1862) 1862–1947 Bengal (from 1862) (West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh) 1762–1764 Manila and Cavite 1786–1946 Penang (Malaysia) 1795–1948 Ceylon (Sri Lanka) 1796–1965 Maldives	1812–1824 Banka (Sumatra) and Billiton (Sumatra) 1819–1826 British Malaya (West Malaysia and Singapore) 1826–1946 Straits Settlements (Malaysia and Singapore) 1839–1967 Colony of Aden 1839–1842 Afghanistan 1841–1997 Hong Kong 1841–1946 Kingdom of Sarawak (Malaysia) 1848–1946 Labuan (Malaysia) 1858–1947 British India (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, Burma) • Bombay • Calcutta • Madras • North-Western Provinces/Allahabad) 1874–1963 British Borneo (East Malaysia and Brunei)	1879–1919 Afghanistan (protectorate) 1882–1963 British North Borneo (Malaysia) 1885–1946 Unfederated Malay States 1888–1984 Sultanate of Brunei 1891–1971 Muscat and Oman protectorate 1892–1971 Trucial States 1895–1946 Federated Malay States 1898–1930 Weihai Garrison	1907–1949 Bhutan (protectorate) 1918–1961 Kuwait protectorate 1920–1932 Iraq⁸ 1921–1946 Transjordan⁸ 1923–1948 Palestine⁸ 1945–1946 South Vietnam 1946–1963 North Borneo (Malaysia) 1946–1963 Sarawak (Malaysia) 1946–1963 Singapore 1946–1948 Malayan Union 1948–1957 Federation of Malaya (Malaysia) Since 1960 Akrotiri and Dhekelia (before as part of Cyprus) Since 1965 British Indian Ocean Territory (before as part of Mauritius and the Seychelles)

⁸ League of Nations mandate. Iraq's mandate was not enacted and replaced by the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty

Oceania

18th and 19th centuries		20th century

1788–1901 New South Wales 1803–1901 Tasmania 1807–1863 Auckland Islands⁹ 1824–1980 New Hebrides (Vanuatu) 1824–1901 Queensland 1829–1901 Western Australia 1836–1901 South Australia since 1838 Pitcairn Islands	1841–1907 Colony of New Zealand 1851–1901 Victoria 1874–1970 Fiji¹⁰ 1877–1976 British Western Pacific Territories 1884–1949 Territory of Papua 1888–1901 Cook Islands⁹ 1889–1948 Union Islands (Tokelau)⁹ 1892–1979 Gilbert and Ellice Islands¹¹ 1893–1978 British Solomon Islands¹²	1900–1970 Tonga (protected state) 1900–1974 Niue⁹ 1901–1942 Commonwealth of AustraliaNorthern Territory 1907–1953 *Dominion of New Zealand 1919–1942 Nauru 1945–1968 Nauru 1919–1949 Territory of New Guinea 1949–1975 Territory of Papua and New Guinea¹³

9. Now part of the *Realm of New Zealand.
10. Suspended member.
11. Now Kiribati and *Tuvalu.
12. Now the *Solomon Islands.
13. Now *Papua New Guinea.

Antarctica and South Atlantic

Since 1658 Saint Helena¹⁴ Since 1815 Ascension Island¹⁴ Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha¹⁴ Since 1908 British Antarctic Territory¹⁵ 1841–1933 Australian Antarctic Territory (transferred to the Commonwealth of Australia) 1841–1947 Ross Dependency (transferred to the Realm of New Zealand)

14. Since 2009 part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; Ascension Island (1922–) and Tristan da Cunha (1938–) were previously dependencies of Saint Helena. 15. Both claimed in 1908; territories formed in 1962 (British Antarctic Territory) and 1985 (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands).

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