Parliament has officially approved the nomination of Justice Gertrude Torkornoo as the Chief Justice of Ghana.

The decision came after the Appointments Committee of Parliament unanimously endorsed her candidacy following her vetting on May 26, 2023.

President Akufo-Addo nominated Justice Torkornoo in April 2023 to succeed Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah, who retired from the position on May 24.

During the debate on the committee’s report before her confirmation by the house, Governs Kwame Aybodza, the Minority Chief Whip, urged Justice Torkornoo to surpass the performance of her predecessor, Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah, as he left behind a legacy of miscarriages of justice.

The Minority had initially suspended its consensus approval of the Chief Justice nominee, pending the full judgment of the Supreme Court on the dual citizenship case involving James Gyakye Quayson, the former Member of Parliament for Assin North.

Addressing the media on Tuesday, June 6, the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga said although the minority caucus disagrees with the ruling of the apex court, it will not withhold its approval of the Chief Justice nominee.

“Thankfully, the reasoning in the James Gyakye Quayson case has been delivered by the Supreme Court earlier than 7th June. This has afforded us the opportunity to review the reasoning. The nominee for the post of Chief Justice (Justice Gertrude Araba Essaba Torkornoo) told the whole world that she is a textualist in her preferred approach to interpreting the Constitution of Ghana 1992.”