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.

The Judicial service named Mrs Regina Ayerko Apotsi as the first woman Judicial Secretary (13th). A statement on Friday signed by Adbullah Iddrisu, Acting Deputy Judicial Secretary. She assumed duty on December 1, 2004.

List of ministers

Number Minister Portfolio Took office Left office Government Party
1Ebenezer Ako-AdjeiMinister for Interior and Justice1956August 1957Nkrumah governmentConvention People's Party
Minister for JusticeAugust 19571958
2Kofi Asante Ofori-AttaMinister for Justice and Local Government1958September 1961
Minister for JusticeSeptember 19611965
3Bashiru Kwaw-SwanzyMinister for Justice and Attorney General1965February 1966
4Victor Owusu1966April 1969National Liberation CouncilMilitary government
5Nicholas Yaw Boafo AdadeApril 1969September 1969
14 September 1969January 1971[8]Busia governmentProgress Party
6Victor OwusuJanuary 197112 January 1972
7Edward Nathaniel Moore13 January 19728 October 1975National Redemption CouncilMilitary government
8Gustav Koranteng-Addow9 October 1975January 1979[9]Supreme Military CouncilMilitary government
9Austin N. E. Amissah1 January 197923 September 1979Armed Forces Revolutionary CouncilMilitary government
10Joe Reindorf24 September 1979August 1981Limann governmentPeople's National Party
11A. L. Djabatey1 October 198131 December 1981
12G. E. K. Aikins25 June 19821988Provisional National Defence CouncilMilitary government
13A. O. Tanoh14 December 19881 April 1993
14Anthony Forson1 March 199330 October 1993Rawlings governmentNational Democratic Congress
Obed Asamoah (Acting AG)November 1993May 1997
15Obed AsamoahMay 19976 January 2001
16Nana Akufo-Addo1 February 2001[10]24 April 2003Kufuor governmentNew Patriotic Party
17Papa Owusu-Ankomah1 April 2003[11]2005
18J. Ayikoi Otoo1 February 2005[12]2006
19Joe Ghartey16 June 20067 January 2009 [13]
20Betty Mould-Iddrisu [1st female][14]20092011Mills governmentNational Democratic Congress
21Martin Amidu4 January 2011[15]2012
22Benjamin Kunbuor25 January 2012[16]24 October 2012
24 October 20127 January 2013Mahama government
23Marietta Brew Appiah-OppongFebruary 2013[17]7 January 2017
24Gloria AkuffoFebruary 2017[18]January 2021Akuffo Addo governmentNew Patriotic Party
25Godfred Yeboah DameJanuary 2021Incumbent

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.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  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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