Parliament has approved the nominations of Justice Sophia Rosetta Bernasko Essah, Justice Edward Amoako Asante and private legal practitioner Anthony Forson Jnr to serve as Justices of the Supreme Court.
The approval followed the adoption of a report by Parliament’s Appointments Committee, which recommended all three nominees despite a contentious vetting process that resulted in the Minority Caucus walking out in protest.
The approval clears the way for the nominees to complete the remaining constitutional procedures required for their appointment to Ghana’s highest court.
President John Dramani Mahama nominated the three candidates in consultation with the Judicial Council before their names were submitted to Parliament for consideration and approval.
The parliamentary approval was preceded by strong opposition from the Minority, led by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who objected to the decision to fast-track the vetting process.
Afenyo-Markin argued that there was no urgent need to accelerate the process because there was no vacancy on the Supreme Court bench requiring immediate replacement.
He stressed that the Minority’s concerns were not directed at the nominees or the President’s constitutional power to nominate individuals for appointment to the Supreme Court. Instead, he said the objection was focused on the procedure and timeline adopted by the Appointments Committee.
The Minority Leader subsequently led his colleagues out of the committee after its chairman, Bernard Ahiafor, rejected the objection and ruled that the vetting should continue.
Ahiafor dismissed the Minority’s arguments as “flimsy”, “hollow” and “baseless”, allowing the Majority members of the committee to proceed with the exercise.
The three nominees have extensive experience in the judiciary and private legal practice.
Justice Sophia Rosetta Bernasko Essah is a Justice of the Court of Appeal with significant judicial experience. She was previously nominated for the Supreme Court in 2024 but did not complete the appointment process before the change of administration.
Justice Edward Amoako Asante, also a Justice of the Court of Appeal, has considerable regional judicial experience. He previously served as President of the ECOWAS Court of Justice before returning to Ghana’s Court of Appeal.
Anthony Forson Jnr is a private legal practitioner and former President of the Ghana Bar Association. He brings extensive experience from private legal practice to the proposed Supreme Court bench.
By : Rachael Djabakie