Parliament has approved the nominations of Justice Sophia Rosetta Bernasko Essah, Justice Edward Amoako Asante and private legal practitioner Anthony Forson Jnr for appointment to Ghana’s Supreme Court.
The approval followed the consideration and adoption of the report of Parliament’s Appointments Committee, which recommended the three nominees after their vetting.
The process was, however, overshadowed by a disagreement between the Majority and Minority over the timetable for the vetting.
Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin objected to what he described as an accelerated schedule, arguing that there was no existing vacancy on the Supreme Court requiring such urgency.
He clarified that the Minority’s objection was not directed at the qualifications of the nominees or President John Dramani Mahama’s constitutional authority to nominate judges to the apex court.
Rather, he said, the concern was about the timing and manner in which the vetting process was being conducted.
The disagreement intensified after Chairman of the Appointments Committee, Bernard Ahiafor, ruled that the exercise should proceed.
Mr Afenyo-Markin subsequently led Minority members out of the committee proceedings.
Mr Ahiafor dismissed the Minority’s objections, describing the reasons given for opposing the timetable as “flimsy”, “hollow” and “baseless”.
With the Minority absent, the Majority proceeded with the vetting and subsequently recommended all three nominees for approval by the House.
Justice Sophia Rosetta Bernasko Essah, currently a Justice of the Court of Appeal, brings extensive judicial experience to the nomination. She had previously been considered for elevation to the Supreme Court in 2024, although the process was not completed before the change in government.
Justice Edward Amoako Asante, also a Court of Appeal Justice, has served in senior judicial positions within the West African region. He previously served as President of the ECOWAS Court of Justice before returning to Ghana’s Court of Appeal.
Anthony Forson Jnr, a veteran private legal practitioner and former President of the Ghana Bar Association, brings several years of experience in legal practice to the proposed Supreme Court bench.
Parliament’s approval clears a major legislative hurdle for the three nominees as they move closer to joining Ghana’s highest court, subject to the remaining constitutional requirements for their appointments.
