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President Akufo-Addo outdoors Sophia Akuffo as new Chief Justice

She will take over from Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, who retires on June 8, 2017.

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President Nana Akufo-Addo has nominated Justice Sophia Akuffo as the next Chief Justice.

The president who made the announcement Friday said he believes that Ms Akuffo will be fair and independent in her new role.

He said: “She was my first junior in practice; she impressed me considerably with her hard work, independence of mind and spirit, honesty and integrity and deep-seated respect for the rule of law and abiding belief in the almighty God.”

“I have no doubt that Ms Akuffo would be a worthy successor to Chief Justice Wood and will uphold jealously the independence of the judiciary,” he said.

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Justice Akuffo becomes Ghana’s second female Chief Justice after Wood.

Ms Akuffo is the next most senior on the highest court of the land after Mr Justice William Atuguba, who will soon retire.

She has been at the Supreme Court for the past two decades and has a master’s degree in Law (LL.M) from the Harvard University in the United States of America (USA).

Ms Akuffo has also been a member of the Governing Committee of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute and Chairperson of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Task Force.

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She was elected in January 2006 as one of the first judges of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights and was re-elected until 2014 when she served as the Vice-President. She is the immediate past President of the court.

She is on the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council and has held membership of many organisations.

She has many publications including: The Application of Information & Communications Technology in the Judicial Process - The Ghanaian Experience, presented to the African Judicial Network Ghana (2002).

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