Information gathered by Joy News reveals Supreme Court Judge, Justice Sophia Akuffo may become the country's next Chief Justice.

Current Chief Justice, Georgina Theodora Wood is leaving office in June after 10 years service as the head of the third arm of government, the Judiciary.

Article 144 (1) of the 1992 Constitution states: "The Chief Justice shall be appointed by the President acting in consultation with the Council of State and with the approval of Parliament."

Already, Supreme Court justices, Jones Dotse and Anin Yeboah have been tipped as keen contenders for the fourth highest position in the country after the President, Vice-President and Speaker of Parliament.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is expected to submit the name of his candidate for Chief Justice to the Council of State for advice after which Parliament will approve the nomination.

Justice Sophia is believed to be a lead contender even though her relationship with the President may militate against her appointment.

Below is her profile

Sophia A.B. Akuffo has been a Judge of the Supreme Court of Ghana for the past two decades.

Sophia Akuffo trained as a lawyer under Nana Akufo-Addo who had her Masters in Law (LLM) from the Havard University in the United States.  

She has been a member of the Governing Committee of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute and the Chairperson of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Task Force.

In January 2006 she was elected one of the first judges of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights initially elected for two years, she was subsequently re-elected until 2014 and is at present serving as Vice-President of the Court.

She has written The Application of Information & Communication Technology in the Judicial Process – the Ghanaian Experience, a presentation to the African Judicial Network Ghana (2002).

One of her famous cases is when she presided over the Montie 3 in 2016.