The Council of State has approved two Court of Appeal judges and two senior legal practitioners to be promoted to the Supreme Court.
The two Appeal Court judges are Justices Samuel K. Marful-Sau, Agnes M.A. Dordzie, while the two senior attorneys are Prof Nii Ashie Kotey and Nene Amegtcher, a former President of the Ghana Bar Association.
However, the four would have to be referred to Parliament for approval in accordance with Article 144 Clause of the 1992 Constitution, which states that “Supreme Court Justices shall be appointed by the President acting on the advice of the Judicial Council, in consultation with the Council of State and with the approval of Parliament.”
Ghana’s apex court currently has 14 Justices with Justice Sophia Akuffo as the Chief Justice.
The approval of the four by Parliament would bring the total number to 16.
Profile
Justice Samuel K. Marful has risen through the ranks in the judiciary and has been a Court of Appeal judge for quite some time.
He has also sat as a High Court judge on certain matters and his approval by the Council of State would not surprise many.
Justice Mrs Agnes Dordzie is known for the case of Ghanaian serial killer, Charles Quansah, nicknamed ‘The Accra Strangler,’ who was found guilty by a seven-member jury for killing his girlfriend and nine women in 2000.
Professor Nii Ashie Kotey, on the other hand, is an Associate Professor of the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana.
He once served as the Chief Executive of the Forestry Commission of Ghana, Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, Legon and Acting Director of the Ghana School of Law.
Prof Kotey was a director of the Ghana Legal Literacy and Resource Foundation and the General Legal Council.
Mr Nene Amegatcher is the managing partner of Sam Okudzeto & Associates law firm with over 30 years of experience as a barrister and solicitor.
He is the former president of the Ghana Bar Association and has since 1994 been senior lecturer at the Ghana Law School where he has been teaching Advocacy and Legal Ethics, as well as other ADR courses.
He taught Commercial Law and General Principles of English and Ghanaian Law at the Accra Polytechnic between 1980 and 1994.
He is a member of the Ghana Bar Association, American Bar Foundation, American Bar Association, Ghana Arbitration Centre, Pupilage Committee of the Ghana Bar Association, International Bar Association, Board of Legal Aid Scheme, National Alternative Dispute Resolution Task Force/Committee, American Arbitration Association and Board of Judicial Training Institute.
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