President John Dramani Mahama has nominated three new individuals to Ghana’s Supreme Court, a move that will expand the bench of the country’s apex court from 18 to 21 justices once the appointments are confirmed.
The nominations were made in consultation with the Judicial Council in accordance with constitutional requirements under the 1992 Constitution.
The latest round of nominations brings fresh faces from both the judiciary and private legal practice, continuing a pattern of expansion that has characterised the Supreme Court’s composition under the current administration.
Meet the Three Nominees
The President’s latest nominees include Justice Sophia Rosetta Bernasko-Essah, an experienced jurist currently serving on Ghana’s Court of Appeal. Her nomination reflects a continued reliance on sitting Court of Appeal judges as a primary pipeline for elevation to the apex court.
Justice Edward Amoako Asante, another Court of Appeal judge, also features among the nominees. Asante brings notable international judicial experience to his candidacy, having previously served as President of the ECOWAS Court of Justice, a role that positioned him within regional legal affairs beyond Ghana’s domestic court system.
The third nominee, Tony Forson, represents a departure from the pattern of elevating sitting judges. A prominent legal practitioner and former President of the Ghana Bar Association, Forson stands as the sole nominee drawn directly from private legal practice, offering the Supreme Court a perspective shaped by years of legal practice outside the judiciary.
The Path to Confirmation
Before any of the three nominees can take their seats on the apex court, they must undergo a formal confirmation process outlined by Ghana’s constitutional framework. The nominees will first appear before Parliament’s Appointments Committee for vetting, a process designed to scrutinise their qualifications, judicial philosophy and suitability for the Supreme Court.
Following the vetting process, Parliament will vote on the committee’s recommendations, a step that requires formal approval before the nominations can proceed further. Should Parliament approve the nominees, President Mahama will then administer the official oath of office, formally installing the three individuals as Justices of the Supreme Court.
Continuing a Pattern of Expansion
These latest nominations follow closely on the heels of a previous round of appointments made by President Mahama in 2025. On April 29, 2025, the President officially nominated seven Justices from the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court through a formal letter, made in accordance with Article 144(2) of the 1992 Constitution.
That earlier round of nominations brought President Mahama’s total nominations to ten justices when combined with the current three, reflecting a substantial reshaping of the Supreme Court’s composition during his time in office.
Following vetting by the Appointments Committee, Parliament approved all seven nominees on June 24, 2025, and President Mahama subsequently swore them into office on July 3, 2025.
The seven justices elevated during that earlier round, all of whom had been serving as Court of Appeal judges, included Justice Sir Dennis Dominic Adjei, Justice Senyo Dzamefe, Justice Gbiel Simon Suurbaareh, Justice Kweku Tawiah Ackaah-Boafo, Justice Philip Bright Mensah, Justice Janapare Adzua Bartels-Kodwo and Justice Hafisata Amaleboba.
The Current Composition of the Apex Court
Ghana’s Supreme Court currently comprises 18 justices, led by Chief Justice His Lordship Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, Justices Gabriel Pwamang, Avril Lovelace Johnson, Issifu Omoro Tanko Amadu, Prof. Henrietta Joy Abena Nyarko Mensa-Bonsu, Emmanuel Yonny Kulendi, and Samuel Kwame Adibu-Asiedu.
The remaining members of the bench include George Kingsley Koomson, Ernest Yao Gaewu, Henry A. Kwofie, Yaw Darko Asare, Richard Adjei-Frimpong, Senyo Dzamefe, Sir Dennis Dominic Adjei, Gbiel Simon Suurbaareh and Janapare Adzua Bartels-Kodwo.
Should the current three nominees receive parliamentary approval and be sworn into office, the bench would expand to 21 justices, marking one of the largest configurations the Supreme Court has held in recent years.
A Look Back at Previous Expansions
The Supreme Court’s size has fluctuated considerably over the past decade, largely shaped by the appointment decisions of successive Presidents.
Between 2017 and 2024, former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo appointed a total of 15 justices to the Supreme Court across several distinct batches, expanding the bench to a peak of 17 justices before it eventually returned to the constitutional baseline of 14.
During his tenure, former President Akufo-Addo’s notable appointments included four justices in 2018, namely Samuel Marful-Sau, Agnes Dordzie, Nii Ashie Kotey and Nene Amegatcher. In 2019, he elevated three Court of Appeal judges, Mariama Owusu, Avril Lovelace-Johnson and Gertrude Tokornoo, to the apex court.
His administration added four more justices in 2020 to further expand the bench, before nominating and vetting an additional four justices in 2022, comprising Barbara Frances Ackah-Yensu, George Kingsley Koomson, Samuel Kwame Adibu Asiedu and Ernest Yao Gaewu.
Likely Political Flashpoint Between NDC and NPP
The latest round of nominations is likely to reignite political debate between the ruling National Democratic Congress and the opposition New Patriotic Party over the appropriate size and composition of Ghana’s Supreme Court.
During former President Akufo-Addo’s presidency, NDC figures frequently criticised his administration’s expansion of the apex court, arguing that the sustained growth in the number of justices, which peaked at 17 before settling back to 14, reflected an attempt to reshape the judiciary in ways that favoured the governing party at the time.
With President Mahama’s nominations now set to push the bench to 21 justices, a figure surpassing even the peak reached under former President Akufo-Addo, NPP figures are likely to draw direct comparisons between the two administrations, questioning why practices once condemned by the NDC while in opposition are now being replicated, and at a larger scale, under an NDC government.
There is a high possibility for NPP legislators and party officials to seize on this apparent inconsistency during the vetting process before Parliament’s Appointments Committee, framing the expansion as evidence of selective outrage rather than principled objection to court packing.
In response, NDC officials and government spokespersons are likely to defend the nominations as constitutionally sound exercises of presidential authority under Article 144, emphasising that each nominee meets the qualifications required for elevation and that the expansion addresses genuine workload and staffing needs within the judiciary rather than serving any partisan agenda.
This recurring cycle of criticism and defence, shifting depending on which party holds executive power, reflects a broader unresolved tension in Ghana’s constitutional framework regarding the absence of a fixed cap on Supreme Court membership, leaving each administration free to expand the bench within the discretion afforded by the 1992 Constitution.
What the Latest Nominations Mean
Taken together, these successive rounds of appointments illustrate how significantly the composition of Ghana’s Supreme Court has shifted under different administrations, with each president exercising considerable influence over the bench through constitutional nomination powers.
With President Mahama’s total nominations now standing at ten justices following this latest announcement, questions may arise regarding the pace and scale of judicial appointments during his tenure, particularly as the court’s size continues to grow beyond its traditional baseline.
As the three new nominees await vetting before Parliament’s Appointments Committee, attention will turn to how lawmakers assess their qualifications and suitability for the apex court, a process that will ultimately determine whether Ghana’s Supreme Court expands to 21 justices in the coming months, even as the nominations themselves become fresh ammunition in the ongoing political contest between Ghana’s two dominant parties over judicial independence and appointment practices.
READ ALSO: GSE Composite Index Nears 15,000 Mark Despite Trading Slum
