Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie was nominated by President John Mahama for appointment as Chief Justice
The Parliament of Ghana has approved the nomination of Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie for appointment as the Chief Justice of Ghana.
This was after the House passed a resolution on the report of the Appointments Committee of Parliament, following the vetting of Justice Baffoe-Bonnie by the committee.
In the report, the committee, by a majority decision, recommended that the House should approve the nomination of Justice Baffoe-Bonnie.
The House, which was presided over by Speaker Alban Bagbin, after debating the report, passed the resolution.
During the debate, members of the Majority Caucus argued that the House should approve Justice Baffoe-Bonnie’s nomination, citing his competence and experience on the bench.
Members of the Minority Caucus, who opposed the approval of the nomination, said that Justice Baffoe-Bonnie could not be confirmed as Chief Justice because of ongoing cases in the court, which may affect his appointment.
After the debate, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, called for a headcount of members who supported the nomination of Justice Baffoe-Bonnie as Chief Justice and those who opposed it, after the voice vote was challenged by the Minority.
After the headcount, 163 members voted in favour of the nomination, while 69 voted against it.
The Minority Caucus tried to call for a division to allow for a secret vote on the nomination, but that was rejected, and the House went on to confirm Justice Baffoe-Bonnie as the new Chief Justice.
Justice Baffoe-Bonnie was vetted by the Appointments Committee on November 10, 2025, after his nomination by the President on September 23, 2025.
Before his appointment as Chief Justice, Justice Baffoe-Bonnie became the Acting Chief Justice following the suspension of the former Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, as the most senior Supreme Court judge.
Justice Baffoe-Bonnie was called to the Bar in Ghana in 1983. He began his judicial career as a Circuit Court Judge in Kumasi and later served as a High Court Judge in Duayaw Nkwanta. He was appointed to the Court of Appeal in 2006.
In June 2008, then-President John Agyekum Kufuor appointed him as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana.
In 2013, he was part of the panel of Supreme Court judges that adjudicated the landmark election petition filed by the New Patriotic Party (NPP), which sought to annul approximately four million votes from the 2012 general elections due to alleged irregularities. The petition was ultimately dismissed by the court.
BAI/
