Georgina Wood best Chief Justice ever – Lawyer

A lawyer and law lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Clara Beeri Kasser-Tee, has described outgoing Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood as the best the country has ever had.

Mrs Wood retires officially today 8 June having attained the constitutional retirement age of 70 after serving as Ghana’s first Chief Justice for 10 years.

In a tribute to her on the Executive Breakfast Show (EBS) on Class91.3FM on Thursday 8 June, Ms Kasser-Tee said Mrs Wood excelled in her role as the head of the judiciary.

“She is one of the best Chief Justices we have ever had in Ghana and she will go down in history as one of the best Chief Justices anywhere in the world,” the law lecturer said.

“I have had the opportunity to work with her on projects that [are] for the benefit of the country and what I can say for her is that with the issue that we talk about in delays in public services and systems, she takes issues hands on and she is very efficient.

“She is one of the most efficient administrators that I have ever worked with. Her responsiveness to issues I think everybody can testify. Anytime we’ve had national issues and the judiciary has had to be involved, she has always been quick to set up the appropriate systems to make sure that when it comes to the judiciary, they are ready to deliver to the nation.

“Her advocacy for people to explore alternative dispute resolution mechanism so as to reduce the workload in the court and also to encourage or facilitate and promote personal relations are [exceptional]. …She has done so much. If we had a few more of her type, an administrator like her, then yes we would see much more rapidly the development we seek in this country. She took her work seriously, she delivered with integrity, she’s been there for 10 years and all of those 10 years who can throw mud at her? She’s held her own…”

Mrs Wood worked with the Ghana Police Service as a Deputy Superintendent and public prosecutor for three years before joining the Judicial Service as a District Magistrate in 1974.

She rose through the Circuit and High Courts to become a judge of the Appeal Court in 1991. She was appointed to the Supreme Court by President John Kufuor on 12 November 2002, an appointment she had earlier declined.

She has nominated for the position of Chief Justice in May 2007 and on 1 June 2007 parliament approved her nomination by consensus, making her the first woman to head the Judiciary.

Since taking office, Mrs Wood has sworn in three Presidents - the late President John Evans Atta Mills in January 2009, then Vice President John Dramani Mahama upon the death of President Mills on 24 July 2012, and President-elect John Dramani Mahama on 7 January 2013. She last swore into office on 7th January 2017 Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.