The Appointments Committee of Parliament will later today [Tuesday] vet the final Supreme Court Justice nominee, Justice Gertrude Torkornoo.
Two of the nominees – Justice Mariama Owusu and Justice Avril Lovelace Johnson – were vetted on Monday.
President Nana Akufo-Addo nominated the three Justices of the Court of Appeal to replace three Supreme Court Justices who have retired or due to retire, including the current Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo, subject to parliamentary approval.
Appearing before the Appointments Committee, Justice Mariama Owusu debunked assertions that there is an orchestrated plan to stifle legal education in the country.
According to her, the sector has instead seen tremendous expansion and transformation.
Responding to a question at the vetting, she said many of the potential lawyers treat the profession as a secondary one.
She also called for a strict cap on the type of issues that can be reviewed by the Supreme Court.
Nominee Scrutiny
Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, who is a Member of Parliament’s Appointments Committee in a Citi News interview earlier indicated that the Committee will scrutinise the nominees to ascertain their preparedness for the new role.
“Ours is to unearth the professional competence of the individuals. They must have unquestioned integrity. They must be compassionate, firm, honest and sincere. We will have to look at judgments they have made in the past. Are they political or partisan? What are their views of some of the issues going on in the country with regards to law? So these are some of the things we will put before them and whilst we do that, we will try to measure their temperaments and emotions. “
About the new Justices
Justice Mariama Owusu was elevated to the Court of Appeal in 2006.
Before this elevation to the Supreme Court, she served as the president of the Ghana chapter for the International Association of Women Judges in 2014.
Justice Owusu also notably sat on the committee investigating allegations of corruption against the Commissioner for the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative (CHRAJ), Lauretta Vivian Lamptey, as well as the trial of suspects in the murder of Major Maxwell Mahama.
Justice Gertrude Torkornoo specialised in business law and construction law and was instrumental in the setting up of Fugar and Co law firm.
She was appointed to the High Court in 2004.
