Ministry of Justice (Ghana)

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The Ministry of Justice & Attorney General's Office of Ghana oversees legal matters that pertain to the State's executive power and drafts any legislation accordingly. The Attorney General is responsible for any civil cases and acts as the defendant on behalf of Ghana. The Ministry of Justice was founded in 1951 as a result of the recommendations made by the Lidbury Commission whereas the position of Attorney General originated in 1877.[1]

The Attorney General is responsible for the Ministry of Justice.

History[]

The Ministry of Justice was created in 1951 after the Lidbury Commission was established to come up with recommendations upon reviewing the Gold Coast Civil Service.[2] The commission established that the establishment of ministries by the then newly established Gold Coast government, headed by Kwame Nkrumah (then Prime Minister and Head of Government Business), was to be modelled under the British Home Office. A Ministry of Justice was then created and headed by P. F. Branigan, an English expatriate.[3] The ministry was to incorporate the duties of the Attorney General as it oversaw the Attorney General department. The ministry later became the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General. In 1954 when the first all African government was formed in the Gold Coast, the Ministry of Justice did not exist. It was merged with the Ministry of Interior, and the name of the ministry was; Ministry of Interior.[4]

In 1956, when a new government was formed following the re-election of Kwame Nkrumah as Prime Minister, the Ministry of Interior became the Ministry of Interior and Justice, and the Ministry was headed by Ebenezer Ako-Adjei, who became the first Ghanaian responsible for the ministry after Ghana gained its independence in March 1957. Following Ghana's independence in 1957, the Ministry of Interior  and Justice was split to form the Ministry of Justice (becoming  a ministry on its own) and the Ministry Interior. This time, the Ministry of Justice did not oversee the Attorney General department as a Ministry for the Attorney General had been created on 7 August 1957 and headed by Geoffrey Bing. Ako-Adjei then became the first Minister of Justice for Ghana from 1957 to 1958. The Ministry was responsible for the functions of the Land Boundaries Settlement Commission, financial and ministerial matters with relation to the Supreme Court, local court and Customary Law, and foreign processes.[5] In 1958, the ministry was merged with the Ministry of Local Government and Kofi Asante Ofori-Atta was put at the helm of its affairs. The Ministry was later split in September 1961 to become its own Ministry when the Ministry of Local Government was merged with the Ministry of Interior and headed by Kwaku Boateng.[6] Ofori-Atta remained Minister for Justice from 1961 until 1965 when he was appointed Speaker of Parliament. The Ministry of Justice was then merged with the ministry for the Attorney General. The portfolio of the Attorney General consequently became; the Minister of Justice and Attorney General.[7] The Ministry was headed by the then Attorney General; B. E. Kwaw-Swanzy. From then onwards to date, the Ministry of the Attorney General has been incorporated with the Ministry of Justice.

List of ministers[]

Number Minister Portfolio Took office Left office Government Party
1 Ebenezer Ako-Adjei Minister for Interior and Justice 1956 August 1957 Nkrumah government Convention People's Party
Minister for Justice August 1957 1958
2 Kofi Asante Ofori-Atta Minister for Justice and Local Government 1958 September 1961
Minister for Justice September 1961 1965
3 Bashiru Kwaw-Swanzy Minister for Justice and Attorney General 1965 February 1966
4 Victor Owusu 1966 April 1969 National Liberation Council Military government
5 Nicholas Yaw Boafo Adade April 1969 September 1969
14 September 1969 January 1971[8] Busia government Progress Party
6 Victor Owusu January 1971 12 January 1972
7 Edward Nathaniel Moore 13 January 1972 8 October 1975 National Redemption Council Military government
8 Dr. Gustav Koranteng-Addow 9 October 1975 January 1979[9] Supreme Military Council Military government
9 Austin N. E. Amissah 1 January 1979 23 September 1979 Armed Forces Revolutionary Council Military government
10 Joe Reindorf 24 September 1979 August 1981 Limann government People's National Party
11 A. L. Djabatey 1 October 1981 31 December 1981
12 G. E. K. Aikins 25 June 1982 1988 Provisional National Defence Council Military government
13 A. O. Tanoh 14 December 1988 1 April 1993
14 Anthony Forson 1 March 1993 30 October 1993 Rawlings government National Democratic Congress
Obed Asamoah (Acting AG) November 1993 May 1997
15 Obed Asamoah May 1997 6 January 2001
16 Nana Akufo-Addo 1 February 2001[10] 24 April 2003 Kufuor government New Patriotic Party
17 Papa Owusu-Ankomah 1 April 2003[11] 2005
18 J. Ayikoi Otoo 1 February 2005[12] 2006
19 Joe Ghartey 16 June 2006 7 January 2009 [13]
20 Betty Mould-Iddrisu [1st female][14] 2009 2011 Mills government National Democratic Congress
21 Martin Amidu 4 January 2011[15] 2012
22 Benjamin Kunbuor 25 January 2012[16] 24 October 2012
24 October 2012 7 January 2013 Mahama government
23 Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong February 2013[17] 7 January 2017
24 Gloria Akuffo February 2017[18] January 2021 Akuffo Addo government New Patriotic Party
25 Godfred Yeboah Dame January 2021 Incumbent

See Attorney General of Ghana

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "About The Ministry | Office of the Attorney-General & Ministry of Justice". www.mojagd.gov.gh. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
  2. ^ Decentralised Administration in Africa: Policies and Training Experience. Management Development Programme, Commonwealth Secretariat. 1989.
  3. ^ Office, Great Britain Colonial (1953). Gold Coast. H.M. Stationery Office.
  4. ^ Office, Great Britain Colonial (1954). Gold Coast. H.M. Stationery Office.
  5. ^ Nkrumah, Kwame (1957). Ghana's Policy at Home and Abroad: Text of Speech Given in the Ghana Parliament, August 29, 1957, by Kwame Nkrumah, Prime Minister. Information Office, Embassy of Ghana.
  6. ^ Division, American University (Washington, D. C. ) Foreign Areas Studies (1962). Special Warfare Area Handbook for Ghana. U.S. Government Printing Office.
  7. ^ Assembly, Ghana National (1965). Parliamentary Debates; Official Report.
  8. ^ "Past Ministers". Official website of the government of Ghana. Government of Ghana. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  9. ^ Africa contemporary record; annual survey and documents, Volume 11. Africana Publishing Company. 1980. p. B-624. ISBN 9780841901605.
  10. ^ "Eleven Ministers Sworn-in". General news. Ghana Home Page. 30 November 2001. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  11. ^ "Government names new Cabinet". General news. Ghana Home Page. 30 November 2001. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  12. ^ "Twenty-nine Ministers sworn into office". General news. Ghana Home Page. 30 November 2001. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  13. ^ "Kufuor restructures ministerial team". General news. Ghana Home Page. 30 November 2001. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  14. ^ "First woman Attorney-General Sworn In". www.ghanaweb.com. 30 November 2001. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
  15. ^ "Cabinet reshuffle: Zita dropped, Betty for education". General news. Ghana Home Page. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  16. ^ "Full Text Of Reshuffle By President Mills". General news. Ghana Home Page. 30 November 2001. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  17. ^ "Kunbuor, others approved by Parliament". General news. Ghana Home Page. 12 February 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  18. ^ Adogla-Bessa, Delali (2017-01-10). "Gloria Akuffo nominated as Attorney General". Ghana News. Retrieved 2017-06-01.
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