Appointments Committee recommends approval of three Supreme Court nominees

Parliament’s Appointments Committee has advised the approval of three candidates to join the Supreme Court, after a contentious vetting process hampered by a walkout by the Minority Caucus. The three new justices are Justice Sophia Rosetta Bernasko Essah, Justice Edward Amoako Asante, and Anthony Forson Jnr. Their addition would raise the total number of justices from 18 to 21.

The recommendation came after a heated session on Thursday, August 27, where Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin lodged a preliminary objection to the vetting procedure and timetable. Afenyo-Markin argued that the process had been hurried, citing the current lack of vacancies and the unusual timing of the consideration. He questioned the justification for accelerating the vetting during Parliament’s emergency recall.

The Minority also asserted that the nominations were being made to enlarge the court rather than to replace retiring, deceased or removed justices, and criticized the lack of public input on the nominees. The Minority Leader’s objection was dismissed by the committee chairman, Bernard Ahiafor, who dismissed it as "flimsy," "hollow," and "baseless."

The Minority subsequently walked out, leaving the Majority to continue the process. The three candidates bring a wealth of judicial experience to the expanded bench. Justice Bernasko Essah is a Court of Appeal Justice with extensive court experience, while Justice Asante has served as President of the ECOWAS Court of Justice and has a background in international law.

Forson Jnr, a private lawyer and former President of the Ghana Bar Association, has had a long career in law. The nominations were proposed by President John Dramani Mahama in consultation with the Judicial Council, as per the constitutional framework for Supreme Court appointments. The Council of State had previously confirmed the qualifications of the nominees.

The judicial nominations are part of an emergency recall initiated by President Mahama on August 24 to address urgent matters, including ministerial nominees, the Supreme Court candidates, and the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (Amendment) Bill. The Minority argued that the emergency nature of the recall should not be used to bypass the standard scrutiny for Supreme Court nominees.

With the committee’s approval, the three nominees are now poised to be presented to the full House for consideration, after which they will take the required oath to assume their positions on the Supreme Court bench.