Albert Agyapong
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has selected Gertrude Torkornoo, a judge on the Supreme Court, as the new Chief Justice of Ghana. To avoid any vacancy, the President emphasized the need to initiate the procedures for Kwasi Anin Yeboah’s successor without delay.
If the Ghanaian Parliament approves, Justice Torkornoo will be the third Chief Justice appointed since Akufo-Addo assumed office in 2017. She will also become Ghana’s third female Chief Justice in history, following Sophia Akuffo and Georgina Theodora Wood.
Justice Gertrude Torkornoo Biography
Gertrude Araba Esaaba Torkornoo, an author and judge from Ghana’s Central Region, was nominated for a position on the Supreme Court in November 2019 and vetted on December 10, 2019. She was inaugurated on December 17, 2019. Torkornoo has written plays, books, academic essays, presentations, and articles in addition to law.
Torkornoo completed her secondary education at Wesley Girls’ High School and Achimota School, where she received her ordinary-level and advanced-level diplomas, respectively. She earned her law degree from the University of Ghana in 1986. After completing an internship at Nabarro Nathanson in London and volunteering at the FIDA Legal Aid Service, she became a pupil associate at the Accra law firm Fugar & Co. In 1994, she rejoined the firm and was appointed director.
Torkornoo served as managing partner of Sozo Law Consult from January 1997 to May 2004, when she was appointed a justice of the High Court of Ghana. She served as a judge on the High Court before being promoted to the Court of Appeal in October 2012.
Torkornoo held several leadership roles before becoming a Supreme Court justice, including Supervising Judge of Commercial Courts, Chair of the Editorial Committee of the Association of Magistrates and Judges, Chief Editor for the creation of the Judicial Ethics Training Manual, Vice-Chair of the E-Justice Steering/Oversight Committee, and Vice-Chair of the Internship and Clerkship Programme for the Judiciary. She is also a member of the Judicial Training Institute’s Governing Board and serves as faculty for the institute.
