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Following the earlier announcement on Monday afternoon that Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo has been removed from office following the recommendation of the Committee that was set up to probe petitions that cited her for stated misbehaviour, President John Mahama has gone ahead to sign and affix the Presidential Seal that also removes her as a Justice of the Supreme Court.
This means Justice Gertrude Torkornoo will no longer be on the Supreme Court bench.
Now therefore, know ye all men that I, John Dramani Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana, in pursuance of the said Article 146 (9), do hereby REMOVE the said Chief Justice, Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo, from the office of Chief Justice and Justice of the Supreme Court, with effect from the date hereof.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand caused the Presidential Seal to be affixed at Accra this 1st of Sept 2025.
In an earlier press statement issued by the presidency Monday afternoon [September 1, 2025] it was explained that the removal was in accordance with Article 149 (9) of 1992 Constitution.
And that the committee, chaired by Justice Gabriel Pwamang, a Justice on the Supreme Court bench, within a four-month period of hearing, found that the grounds of stated misbehaviour under Article 146(1) had been established and recommended her removal from office.
Under Article 146 (9) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, the President is bound to follow the recommendations of the committee in such circumstances.
The said article specifically stipulates that “The President shall, in each case, act in accordance with the recommendations of the committee”
A Ghanaian citizen, Daniel Ofori had petitioned the President to remove Justice Torkornoo on grounds of stated misbehaviour as Chief Justice.
Justice Torkonoo was appointed Chief Justice in 2023 and is the first head of the judiciary in Ghana’s Fourth Republic to be removed from office under the constitutional provision.
She took over from Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah who retired in May 2023.
That made her the third female Chief Justice in the history of Ghana after Justice Georgina Theodore Wood and Sophia Akuffo.
Justice Gertrude Torkornoo's nomination was approved by Parliament on Wednesday, June 7, 2023.
Below is a copy of the press statement from the presidency
Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkonoo from office.
President John Dramani Mahama has, in accordance with Article 146(9) of the 1992 Constitution, removed the Chief Justice, Her Ladyship Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkonoo, from office with immediate effect.
This follows receipt of the report of the Committee constituted under Article 146(6) to inquire into a petition submitted by a Ghanaian citizen, Mr Daniel Ofori. After considering the petition and the evidence, the Committee found that the grounds of stated misbehaviour under Article 146(1) had been established and recommended her removal from office.
Under Article 146(9), the President is required to act in accordance with the committee's recommendation.
In April 2025, the presidency announced that President Mahama had received petitions asking that Justice Torkornoo be removed from office.
Upon receiving the petitions and in line with Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution, President Mahama forwarded them to the Council of State for advice in establishing a prima facie case.
Following the determination of a prima facie case, President Mahama in April 2025 suspended Justice Torkornoo and set up a five-member committee to look into the petitions.
The committee was chaired by Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang, a Justice on the Supreme Court bench.
Other members were Justice Samuel Kwame Adibu-Asiedu, also a Justice on the Supreme Court bench, Mr Daniel Yaw Domelevo, a former Auditor-General, Major Flora Bazaanura Dalugo from the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), and Professor James Sefah Dzisah, an associate Professor at the University of Ghana.
In the interim, a Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, was appointed to act as Chief Justice following the suspension of Justice Torkornoo.
In line with Article 146, all proceedings of the committee were held in camera.
Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo (Mrs ) joined the Judicial Service in 2004 as one of the first Justices of the Commercial Division of the High Court. She had been active in the core reform agenda and activities of the Judiciary and the Judicial Service of Ghana (JSG) since 2005.
The organs through which these reforms have been implemented have included the specialized divisions of the High Court, the Judicial Training Institute, administrative committees set up to ensure the implementation of the automation and digitalization of court work and administration of JSG, the streamlining of alternative dispute settlement mechanisms in justice delivery, and communication channels between the Judiciary and its stakeholders.
Leadership Profile
The leadership roles Justice Sackey Torkornoo has played in ensuring the achievement of judicial reforms include being vice chair of the E-Justice Oversight and Implementation Committee (E-Justice OC) from its inception in 2019 and chair of the E-Justice OC since August 2021. She has served as member of the faculty and Governing Board of the Judicial Training Institute, vice chair of the Internship and Clerkship Committee of the Judiciary since 2012, Supervising Judge of the Commercial Division of the High Court since 2013, member and chair of the E-Judgment Committee since 2010, member and chair of the Publications and Editorial Committee of the Association of Magistrates and Judges of Ghana since 2006, and member and chair of various ad-hoc committees needed for the smooth administration of the work of JSG. Justice Sackey Torkornoo has served as judicial leader in the development and oversight of several reform projects of the Judiciary involving the European Union, USAID, DFID, collaborations with other African countries. She has also been a member of the Law Reform Commission since 2016.
E-JUSTICE Oversight and Implementation Committee
The leadership requirements of this Committee includes liaising with all external stakeholders in the provision and sustainability of the infrastructure of the E-Justice, setting up and overseeing the activities of all staff, Judges and committees involved in managing the infrastructure, ensuring cultural change from the use of manual systems to operating in the virtual realm and planning for the progressive achievement of electronic justice delivery nationwide. Currently her work as chair of E-Justice includes ensuring the streamlining into efficiency, the use of the Ghana Case Tracking system commenced as part of the Security Governance Initiative implemented by the Judicial Service of Ghana, Ghana Police Service, Economic and Organised Crimes Office, Ghana Prisons Service, National Signals Bureau, and Ministry of Justice and Office of the Attorney General. This work is being supervised by the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization.
The E-Justice Oversight Committee has also conducted a close examination of the High Court Civil Procedure Rules CI 47, the District Court Civil Procedure Rules CI 59, and the Criminal and Other Offences Act Act 29 to ensure that all rules that govern judicial proceedings allow for easy implementation of E-Justice. The outcomes of that work will be presented to both the Rules of Court Committee for statutory reforms, and to the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization for incorporation into the scope of works for the next phase of E-Justice deployment.
Supervision of the Commercial Division of High Court
As Supervising Judge of commercial courts since 2013, Justice Sackey Torkornoo has set the agenda for and chaired the meetings and programs of the Users Committee of the Commercial Courts. She has quietly ensured the sustenance of a keen culture of efficiency in the commercial division of the High Court nationwide through leadership initiatives such as ‘brown bag learning sessions’ for Judges of the court, consistent meetings with staff and leadership of the court, engagements with external service operators such as process servers, valuers, auctioneers and the Users Committee of the court and presentation of policy briefs to Chief Justices on needed reforms in commercial justice delivery as well as the administrative needs of the court. Justice Sackey Torkornoo presided over the implementation of the Business Environment Engineering Project (BEEP) funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom. Her leadership directions in that project ignited and provided the Ministry of Trade and Industry with guidance on the introduction of Users Committees into other institutions that participated in the BEEP project. The BEEP project further influenced the active development of the Business Environment Reforms being streamlined into national institutions by the MOTI. She serves as chair of the Technical Working Group on ‘Enforcing Contracts’ set up to steer change in the business law environment. Outcomes of the work of the BEEP project within the Judiciary included the design of necessary reforms in the monitoring and evaluation of data collection currently being implemented by the Judiciary, the design of necessary reforms in the post-judgment and execution part of justice delivery, and reforms in stream lining of ADR in commercial justice delivery in Circuit and High Courts that led to the passage of High Court (Civil Procedure) Amendment Rules 2020, CI 133.
Judicial Training
As part of the faculty of the Judicial Training Institute since 2005 and board member of the JTI since 2018, Justice Sackey Torkornoo has actively participated in initiatives to enhance the learning of Judges through awareness of distinctions between judicial skills, the social context of judicial work and core black letter law. This work has included being a trainer of trainers, the development of a curriculum for teaching Judicial Ethics, a manual for training in Judicial Ethics, and the lacing of applications of ethical principles into the daily routines of Judges. Through being a constant trainer in Judicial Ethics, she has worked to motivate Judges to aspire to excellence through development of research and writing skills, case and courtroom management, as well as the application of judicial ethics in their work and private lives.
Learning Resources
After assuming the chair of the Editorial Committee for the Association of Magistrates and Judges of Ghana in 2009, Justice Sackey Torkornoo led the publication of an annual magazine for Judges, ensuring that issues pertinent to the development of competence in the judicial career and the discharge of the Judiciary’s constitutional mandate were brought to the fore in this magazine. She has also chaired the E-Judgment Committee responsible for developing electronic research resources for Judges since 2012 and has achieved the current creation of an e-judgment research resource with key-word search-ability properties for Judges.
In her work as vice chair of the Internship and Clerkship Program, Justice Sackey Torkornoo has actively participated in the smooth administration of the internship and clerkship program run jointly with law faculties, law firms, the Judiciary, the Ghana Bar Association and the Ghana School of Law since 2012.
Awards
In 2010, Justice Sackey Torkornoo became the first awardee of a scholarship by the International Association of Women Judges, after a global selection process. She undertook and excelled in an LLM in Intellectual Property, International Law and Internet Law at the Golden Gate University, San Francisco where her thesis on reforming Ghana’s Copyright Law relating to Folklore and Art was published as the lead article in the University’s Annual Survey on Comparative and International Law.
In 2015, she was awarded the Women of Excellence Award in Judicial Integrity under the auspices of Ministry for Gender, Child and Social Protection.
In 2016, she was made a Fellow of the Ghana Institute of Construction
While not compromising on the quality of her courtroom work and judgment writing, Justice Sackey Torkornoo has become noted for excellence in administrative leadership, continuing study, teaching, writing, and the judicial ethics of competence, diligence and integrity. She has served under and worked closely with four Chief Justices namely Chief Justice George Kingsley Acquah (decd), Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood (Rtd), Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo (Rtd) and Chief Justice Anin Yeboah.
She was promoted to the Court of Appeal in October 2012 and to the Supreme Court in December 2019.
CURRICULUM VITAE
JUDICIAL WORK
Dec 2019 – date: Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana, with responsibility for constitutional cases, final appeals over chieftaincy cases, supervisory jurisdiction over superior courts, final appellate jurisdiction in the judicial hierarchy, and presidential election petitions. Panel member in the 2021 presidential election petition
OCT 2012 - APRIL 2019: Justice of Court of Appeal, Ghana with responsibility for hearing and determining appeals from High Courts. Sat on the court of appeal panels in Kumasi (Oct 2015- July 2017), and Tamale (Oct 2017 to December 2019)
Averaging two judgments a month, she assisted with and wrote more than 180 well researched appellate judgments on substantive law, legal philosophies, rules of procedure & equity, delivered with the focus on doing substantial justice and avoiding miscarriage of justice.
MAY 2004 - OCT 2012: Justice of High Court, Ghana and Judge / Neutral with responsibility for court-assisted mediation & negotiation in pre-trial settlement conferences
During the period, she wrote more than 150 well-researched judgments delivered after adjudication of commercial disputes; and more than 350 disputes were resolved and un-appealable decisions recorded after mediated settlements
ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORT WORK IN JUDICIARY
Chair, E-Justice Committee – Leading the planning of automation of all levels of courts, procurement and incorporation of the use of electronic resources and software in the work of Judicial Service
Supervising Judge – With oversight responsibility for the smooth running of Commercial Divisions of High Courts since 2013
Chair, ‘Enforcing Contracts’ Subgroup of the Business Regulatory Reform Program – A program for designing and implementing interventions to ensure efficient enforcement of contracts with funds from the World Bank and executed under the auspices of the Ministry for Trade and Industry
Chair, The Business Environment Enablement Program – Multimillion pound sterling project for reforming commercial justice delivery implemented by the Judiciary with funds from DFID, United Kingdom between 2015 and 2020.
Chair, E-Judgment Committee – Planning and implementation of electronic library resources for the Judiciary and Judicial Officers since 2015
Vice-Chair – Internship and Clerkship Program for the Judiciary
Faculty Member – Judicial Training Institute – facilitating learning in Judicial Ethics, Judgment Writing, Case Management, Courtroom Communication, Commercial Law
Member – Governing Board of Judicial Training Institute – Responsible for planning and monitoring training programs and learning resources for the Judiciary and Judicial Service staff
Member, Editorial Committee of Association of Magistrates & Judges of Ghana – Responsible for leading the publication of Journals, Newsletters & Magazines for the Judicial Service and the Judiciary
Member – Committee responsible for development of the Judicial Charter and other written resources for the Judiciary
Chaired interview panels for engagement of senior officers of the Judicial Service
Chaired various committees for procurement of equipment and construction services for the Judicial Service
PRE-JUDICIARY WORK EXPERIENCE
1997-2004 Managing Partner, Sozo Law Consult – Law Firm
providing consultancy services for business ventures, project planning
and supervision, advocacy in litigation, arbitration and negotiations;
Chief Executive of SLC Law Forum – A Publishing, Training & Research Support Service for Business Law (subsidiary of Sozo Law Consult). Organized several training programs in Commercial Law topics and legal skills such as negotiation of project contracts for the business community. Undertook consultancy services for the Business Law Division of the Ministry of Justice. Led the publication of A Handbook on Business Law, and annual publication of Legislative Watch;
1994-1996 - Director, Fugar & Co, Accra Responsible for assisting with management of the law firm and its project initiatives while continuing to work as solicitor and barrister
1987-1994 – Associate, Fugar & Co, Accra
Working as Solicitor engaged in the negotiation & drafting of commercial agreements, project documentation; company secretarial services; Barrister assisting with or leading litigation in all levels of courts
During this period, she also worked as:
Awards:
1989 – Received award from the International Bar Association for the top essay in a global essay competition on international law considerations in project contracts organized to assist with increasing knowledge of lawyers in construction and project contracts. The prize included cash and working in the Construction Law Department of Nabarro Nathanson, a top 20 law firm in London, UK
Academic Research, Articles, Publications
International Business Lawyer Dec 1989
Research Paper on International Human Rights submitted as part of an LLM Requirement; Golden Gate University 2011
Research Paper on Peaceful Settlement of Disputes Between Nations submitted as part of an LLM Requirement; Golden Gate University 2011
Research Paper presented at Fulbright Symposium on International Law Developments, Golden Gate University, San Francisco, 2011
Volume XV111, Spring 2012; Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law, Golden Gate University School of Law
Judicial Journal, 2014
Paper delivered at Conference on Administration of Commercial Justice in Africa - Arusha, TANZANIA, September 2007
Presented at Conference on ‘Reviewing the Scope of Intellectual Property laws in Ghana’ – WIPO/Judicial Service of Ghana, June 2008
Presented at ‘2022 Bench/Bar/Faculty Lectures in Ghana April 2022
EDUCATION
2010-11 – LLM, Intellectual Property Law - Golden Gate University San Francisco, USA
2001 – P.G.Dip, International Law & Organizations for Development, Institute of Social Studies (now part of Erasmus University), The Hague, Netherlands
1986 - Professional Certificate in Law, Ghana School of Law
1984 - BA- Law & Sociology, University of Ghana
1980 – GCE A Level, Achimota School, Accra
1978 – GCE O Level, Wesley Girls’ High School, Cape Coast
2022 Technology and the Courts – Singapore
2022 Navigating Presidential Petitions, the law and remedies. (Seminar organized in preparation for the 2022 Kenyan elections) Mombasa, Kenya
2018 Ghana’s Strategic Plan In Combatting Pharmaceutical Crimes – West Africa Regional Training Center of US Embassy, Accra
2017 Trends in Intellectual Property Litigation – WIPO, Geneva
Commercial Justice and Legal Ethics – Law Society of Zimbabwe
2016 Managing Electoral Petitions -Judicial Training Institute, Ghana
2010 Auditing Systems of Justice Delivery - Malawi
2008 a. Diplomatic Immunity
2007 a. Judicial Ethics
2007 Facilitating Judicial Education–National Judicial Inst, Canada in collaboration with Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute, Ottawa, Canada
Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights -Global Intellectual Property Academy, Virginia, USA
2006 a. Mining Law – Environmental Protection Agency
2005 a. Finance and Accounting for Judges - Judicial Training Institute
2005 b. Fighting Counterfeit Medicines in Sub-Saharan Africa South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa
2004 a. Legal Integration in West & Central Africa - The OHADA module, Dakar, Senegal
2003 Program for Advanced Leadership, Haggai Institute, Hawaii
2000 Legal Issues in Structuring Public Private Partnership Projects - Institute of Public Private Partnerships, Washington, DC
1998 Alternative Dispute Resolution’; University of Ghana, LECIA
1997 ADR & Conflict Management; University of Ghana, LECIA
1995 ‘Basic Securities, Advanced Securities’ - Ghana Stock Exchange
1995 International Construction Contracts; The Study Group, Oxford, UK
OTHER INTERESTS
Writing Poetry, Plays and Fiction, Evangelism
Books and Plays
Gertrude Torkornoo (Ed.) ‘Business in Ghana – A handbook on laws and regulations’ 1st Edition – 2000; 2nd Edition – 2003 (Published by SLC Law Forum)
Gertrude Torkornoo (Ed) ‘Legislative Watch’ (A research tool on the laws amended, reviewed and newly passed in Ghana) – From 1997 (Updated annually until 2002; now being developed as an electronic resource) (Published by SLC Law Forum)
Gertrude Torkornoo 2010, ‘The Child and the Rainbow’ – Anthology of Poetry printed by Combert Impressions
Gertrude Torkornoo 2010, ‘The Wise Still Hear the Birds’ – Anthology of Poetry printed by Combert Impressions
Plays – Blood & Roses (2016); The Richest King (2017); A Day For Rain (2018) (Written for Radio)
Memberships
Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo is married to Mr. Francis Torkornoo, a Pharmacist, and has four daughters and three grandchildren.
