Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, who has served as Ghana’s acting Chief Justice since April 2025 following the suspension of Justice Gertrude Torkornoo and was confirmed as substantive Chief Justice on 17th November 2025, is due to retire in December this year after 18 years on the Supreme Court bench. Justice Baffoe-Bonnie, appointed on 11th June 2008 by President John Kufuor, remains the longest-serving Justice and his exit will trigger a crucial appointment under President John Mahama. By the long-standing but non-binding convention of seniority, Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang, who is currently the most senior Justice after Justice Baffoe-Bonnie and who acted as Chief Justice during Justice Baffoe-Bonnie’s 10-day absence in August 2025, is positioned to become Ghana’s 30th Chief Justice, although recent history shows seniority is not always followed.
That convention has been broken three times in recent years, a point fueling debate. In 2020, Justice Anin Yeboah, appointed on 11th June 2008, was elevated over his senior colleagues Justice Jones Dotse and Justice Baffoe-Bonnie himself to become Chief Justice on 7th January 2020 until his retirement on 24th May 2023. In June 2023, Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, who was only appointed to the Supreme Court on 17th December 2019, leapfrogged both Justice Baffoe-Bonnie and Justice Pwamang to become Chief Justice until her suspension in April 2025. The elevation of Justice Baffoe-Bonnie in 2025 was seen by many as a restoration of seniority after 17 years of waiting, and Justice Pwamang’s expected elevation would cement that return to convention.
The Supreme Court now stands at its full strength of 21 Justices following the swearing-in of three new Justices on 10th September 2026 at the Presidency by President Mahama. The new additions are Justice Sophia Rosetta Bernasko-Essah, a Court of Appeal Judge, Justice Edward Amoako Asante, a former President of the ECOWAS Court of Justice, and Justice Anthony Forson Jnr, a private practitioner and former Ghana Bar Association President. With their inclusion, the court expanded from 18 to 21, and the political balance has shifted dramatically. Of the 21, 11 were appointed by NPP Presidents – one by Kufuor on 11th June 2008 (Justice Baffoe-Bonnie) and ten by Akufo-Addo between 17th December 2019 and 3rd January 2024, including Justice Avril Lovelace-Johnson, Justice Issifu Omoro Tanko Amadu, Justice Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu, Justice Yonny Kulendi, Justice Samuel Adibu Asiedu, Justice George Kingsley Koomson, Justice Ernest Gaewu, Justice Henry Anthony Kwofie, Justice Yaw Darko Asare and Justice Richard Adjei-Frimpong. The remaining 10 were appointed by NDC President Mahama – one in his first term (Justice Pwamang on 29th June 2015) and nine in his second term, six on 3rd July 2025 (Justice Senyo Dzamefe, Justice Dennis Dominic Adjei, Justice Gbiel Simon Suurbaareh, Justice Janapare Bartels-Kodwo, Justice Hafisata Amaleboba, Justice Kweku Tawiah Ackaah-Boafo) and three on 10th September 2026.
If seniority prevails, Justice Pwamang brings a distinguished record of famous judgments that have shaped constitutional law. He wrote the leading opinion in the 2016 Montie Trio contempt case affirming the Supreme Court’s power to punish for scandalizing the court, he was central to the Justice Agyei Twum v Attorney General case for retrieval of the GH¢51 million Woyome judgment debt, and his work in Justice Banful v Attorney General on presidential eligibility is widely cited. Justice Baffoe-Bonnie himself is remembered for his role in the 2020 Election Petition dismissing Mahama’s challenge, while other senior Justices like Justice Avril Lovelace-Johnson, who would be the fourth woman Chief Justice if chosen, built …
