George Kingsley Koomson

Last updated
Justice
George Kingsley Koomson
Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana
Incumbent
Assumed office
5 April 2023
Alma mater
ProfessionJudge

George Kingsley Koomson is a Ghanaian judge who serves as an active justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana.

Contents

Early life and education

Koomson was born in May 1962 in Agona Nyakrom in the Central Region of Ghana. He received his primary and middle school education at the Assin Fosu DC school and later attended Winneba Senior High School from 1976 to 1981 for his O Levels. He then proceeded to St. Augustine's College, Cape Coast from 1981 to 1983 for his A Levels. [1]

After completing his A Levels, Koomson was unable to immediately pursue higher education due to the closure of public universities in Ghana in 1983. He however completed his sixth form National Service at Assin Basefo Ningo, a village close to Assin Fosu, where he taught in a primary school and in Form 1. Public universities in Ghana reopened in 1984, and Koomson enrolled in the University of Ghana to study law, graduating with an LLB in 1987. He then proceeded to the Ghana School of Law, where he obtained his Bar qualification in October 1989. [1]

Career

After completing his National Service at the Ministry of Local Government, Koomson joined the Attorney General's department as an Assistant State Attorney in November 1990, where he was initially posted to Cape Coast. [2] In 1994, he was promoted to the position of State Attorney and later transferred to the Drafting Division of the Attorney General's Department in Accra. He resigned from the Attorney General's Department after six months and entered private practice with Michel's Barton and Partners until 2000 when he was appointed a circuit judge.[ citation needed ]

Koomson was first posted as a Circuit Judge to Akyim Swedru, where he worked for five years before being transferred to Takoradi for three years. [3] In March 2008, he was appointed a High Court Judge and was posted to Wa, where he served until 2010. In July 2010, he was transferred to the Kumasi High Court and served in that capacity until 2013 when he was appointed to the Accra Commercial Court. [4] [5] He served in the Accra Commercial Court until August 2020 when he was appointed as a justice of the Appeals Court of Ghana. [6]

Supreme Court Appointment

Koomson was nominated by President Akufo-Addo in consultation with the Judicial Council and the Council of State on 4 July 2022. He name together with three others (Ernest Gaewu, Barbara Frances Ackah-Yensu, and Samuel Kwame Adibu Asiedu) were announced before parliament by the Speaker of parliament Alban Bagbin and referred to the appointments committee for consideration. [7] [8]

Koomson was vetted on 18 October 2022 by the appointments committee. [9] Following his vetting, a group consisting of victims and families of victims of the Ejura killings submitted a joint memorandum on 20 October 2022 to petition the Appointments Committee of Parliament against confirming the nomination of Justice Kingsley Koomson to the Supreme Court of Ghana. The group alleged that Justice Koomson lacked the necessary independence of thought, moral conviction, and integrity to support his nomination to the Supreme Court due to his role in the Koomson Committee, which investigated the killings. The group further invited the Appointments Committee and Parliament to consider their concerns when evaluating Justice Koomson's nomination. [10]

Koomson's approval was withheld by the appointments committee as minority MPs claimed he had not been in the Appeals Court for long and added that there were other judges who were more competent. [11] On 24 March 2023 his approval was confirmed through a secret balloting process by parliament. Koomson received 139 "Yes" votes and 133 "No" votes during the approval process. [12]

Koomson was consequently sworn into office as justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana together with Ernest Yao Gaewu on 5 April 2023 by President Nana Akufo-Addo. [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

Nicholas Yaw Boafo Adade (1927–2013) was a former supreme court judge and Attorney-General of Ghana. He was first appointed to the Supreme Court in 1980 and became acting chief justice from 1990 to 1991. He was the Attorney General of Ghana between April 1969 to February 1971 in the National Liberation Council administration and Busia government. He was Member of Parliament for Asante Akim South constituency under the Second Ghanaian Republic.

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo took office as Ghana's president on 7 January 2017 after winning the December 2016 presidential elections. A number of controversies have arisen under his administration.

Kwasi Anin-Yeboah is a Ghanaian judge and a former Chief Justice of Ghana. In December 2019, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo nominated Justice Anin-Yeboah as the Chief Justice of Ghana.

Nii Ayikoi Otoo is a Ghanaian lawyer and politician. He belongs to the New Patriotic Party. He served as attorney general and Minister of Justice of Ghana in the John Agyekum Kufour administration. He was Ghana's High Commissioner to Canada. He is the board chairman of Ghana Life Insurance Company(GLICO).

Henrietta Joy Abena Nyarko Mensa-Bonsu, is a Supreme Court Judge of the Republic of Ghana. She was nominated by president Nana Akufo-Addo. She is the 5th female member of the Court. Prior to her appointment to the Supreme Court, she was a Ghanaian law professor who served as a member of the United Nations Independent Panel on Peace Operations.

Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo is the current Chief Justice of the republic of Ghana. She was nominated to the Supreme Court in November 2019 and received parliamentary approval in December 2019. She was sworn in on 17 December 2019. She was nominated to the office of Chief Justice in April 2023 to replace Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah who retired as Chief Justice on May 24, 2023. She was sworn into office as the 15th Chief Justice of Ghana on 12 June 2023.

Samuel Kofi Marful-Sau was a Ghanaian judge. He was an active justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana.

Agnes Mercy Abla Dordzie is a Ghanaian judge. She was an active justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana until October 2022. She was appointed justice of the Supreme Court in 2018.

Nene Abayateye Ofoe Amegatcher is a Ghanaian lawyer, academic and judge. He served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana from 3 October 2018 to 28 July 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Issifu Omoro Tanko Amadu</span> Ghanaian judge

Issifu Omoro Tanko Amadu is a Supreme Court judge of the Republic of Ghana.

Clemence Jackson Honyenuga is a Ghanaian former judge, who served in the Supreme Court of Ghana from 22 May 2020 until 4 September 2022.

Barbara Frances Ackah-Yensu is a Ghanaian judge and an active Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana. She has been on the bench in Ghana since 2003 and was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2022.

Samuel Kwame Adibu Asiedu is a Ghanaian judge. He is an active Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana. He has been on the bench in Ghana since 1996 and became a Supreme Court judge in 2022.

Ernest Yao Gaewu is a Ghanaian lawyer and judge who is in active service at the Supreme Court of Ghana.

Anthony Henry Kwofie is a Ghanaian judge, an active justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana and president of the Association of Magistrates and Justices of Ghana.

Yaw Darko Asare is a Ghanaian jurist and an active justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana.

Richard Adjei-Frimpong is a Ghanaian judge and an active justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana.

The case of Tuffour v Attorney General is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of Ghana. The case centers on the controversial dismissal of then, Chief Justice Fred Apaloo by the Parliament of the Third Republic and the subsequent legal challenge that sought to contest this dismissal.

References

  1. 1 2 "Livestreamed: Vetting of Supreme Court Justice Designate Justice Ernest Yao Gaewu", Youtube, retrieved 2023-04-05
  2. ↑ Clegg, Sam (1992-03-25). Daily Graphic: Issue 12855 March 25 1992. Graphic Communications Group.
  3. ↑ Boadu-Ayeboafoh, Yaw (2006-02-22). Daily Graphic: Issue 1,49670 February 22 2006. Graphic Communications Group.
  4. ↑ Inkoom, Kingsley (2014-09-03). Daily Graphic: Issue 19554 September 3, 2014. Graphic Communications Group.
  5. ↑ Tetteh, Ransford (2014-03-27). Daily Graphic: Issue 19419 March 27, 2014. Graphic Communications Group.
  6. ↑ Service, Judicial. "Six New Court of Appeal Judges Sworn-in". Judiciary Of Ghana. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  7. ↑ "President nominates 4 to Supreme Court". Graphic Online. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
  8. ↑ "Four Supreme Court nominees to face Appointments Committee today". GhanaWeb. 2022-10-18. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
  9. ↑ Appiah-Dolphyne, Joseph (2022-10-18). "Issue of corruption is a national concern, says Supreme Court nominee". Asaase Radio. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  10. ↑ Appiah-Dolphyne, Joseph (2022-10-21). "Group petitions Parliament over Justice Koomson's nomination to the Supreme Court". Asaase Radio. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  11. ↑ "Minority kicks against approval of 2 Justices to the Supreme Court". GhanaWeb. 2023-03-24. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  12. ↑ Online, Peace FM. "Parliament Approves Justices Gaewu, Koomson For Supreme Court". Peacefmonline - Ghana news. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  13. ↑ "Akufo-Addo inducts two new Supreme Court judges into office". Modern Ghana. 5 April 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.