The Appointments Committee of Parliament will tomorrow vet the president's nominee for Chief Justice. If approved, Georgina Theodora Wood will become the first female Chief Justice of Ghana.
President Kufuor, acting in consultation with the Council of State, nominated Mrs Wood on May 4, following the demise of George Kingsley Acquah on March 25. Justice Francois Yaonansu Kpegah has been acting CJ, in line with Article 144(6) of the 1992 Constitution, which states that in the event of the Chief Justice"s office being declared vacant, the next in order of seniority takes charge until a substantive CJ is appointed.
The likelihood of Justice Georgina Wood being nominated for the highest judicial position in the land was broken last month by The Statesman. In the said story ("Race for Justice Acquah’s seat down to 2" - April 19, 2007), the paper reported that two names remained in the race to be the next Chief Justice, with Tawiah Modibo Ocran or Georgina Wood most likely to assume the position, although the smart money seemed to be on Mrs Wood. Also still in with an outside chance at the time was Samuel Kofi Date-Bah.
They had been whittled down from 13 Supreme Court potentials; the others were Justices William A Atuguba, Sophia A B Akuffo, Theodore Adzoe, S Allan Brobbey, Seth Twum, Julius Ansah, R T Aninakwa, Sophia Ophelia Adjeibea Adinyira and Samuel Kwadwo Asiamah.
At 60 Justice Wood could have ten years of heading the nation’s judiciary.
Born on June 8, 1947 Mrs Justice Wood attended Bishop’s Girls and Methodist Schools. She had her LLB (Hons) from the University of Ghana, Legon in 1970 after completing Wesley Girls High School, Cape Coast in 1966. She took a six-month Post-Graduate Officers Training Course at the Ghana Police College.
She joined the Judicial Service as a District Magistrate Grade II and was later promoted to Grade I. She was promoted to the Court of Appeal as a presiding judge in 1991.
Mrs Justice Wood last year chaired the Georgina Wood Committee that conducted an enquiry into the disappearance of 77 packets of cocaine from the MV Benjamin vessel on April 26, 2006, as well as the 588kg cocaine seized from some Venezuelans at Mempeasem, East Legon.
Mrs Justice Wood was first nominated to the Supreme Court in 2003, at the time of the Fast Track Review Case, alongside the late Justice Afreh – a nomination she initially turned down. She is the Chairperson of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanism.
A number of lawyers who spoke to The Statesman on condition of anonymity said they expected Mrs Wood, if approved, to continue with the campaign against corruption in the judiciary and other reforms started by the late CJ.
