Sophia Adinyira Explained

Honorific-Prefix:Justice
Sophia Adinyira
Office:Supreme Court Judge
Term Start:2006
Term End:2019
Appointer:John Kufuor
Office1:Justice of the Appeal Court of Ghana
Nominator1:Jerry Rawlings
Term Start1:1999
Term End1:2006
Office2:Justice of the High Court of Ghana
Term Start2:1989
Term End2:1999
Nominator2:Jerry Rawlings
Birth Name:Sophia Ophelia Adjeibea Adinyira
Birth Date:1 September 1949
Birth Place:Ghana
Nationality: Ghanaian

Sophia Ophelia Adjeibea Adinyira (born 1 September 1949) is a Ghanaian retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana and a member of the United Nations Appeal Tribunal.[1] [2] [3]

Early life and education

Adinyira was born in 1949 at Cape Coast in the Central Region of Ghana.[4] [5] She attended Fijai Senior High School from 1961 to 1966 for her 'O' Level certificate and Wesley Girls' High School from 1966 to 1968 for her 'A' Level certificate.[5] She had her legal training at the University of Ghana and the Ghana School of Law, and was called to the Ghana Bar in 1973.[5] [6]

Career

Adinyira worked at the Attorney General's Department in 1974 as an Assistant State Attorney.[5] She served in that capacity until 1986 when she was elevated to the position of Principal State Attorney.[5] In 1989 she was appointed to the High Court bench.[5] [6] She worked as a High Court judge for about a decade, and in 1999 she gained her promotion to the Appeals Court bench.[5] She was appointed to the Supreme Court on 15 March, 2006.[7] She also served as a Judge of the United Nations Appeals Tribunal from July 2009 to June 2016, sitting in New York and Geneva.[6] [4]

Adinyira is a member of the International Association of Women Judges and chairs the National Multisectoral Committee on Child Protection. She drafted a juvenile justice policy for Ghana supported by the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection and UNICEF.[6] She is also a member of the General Legal Council, the body responsible for legal education in Ghana.[4]

Awards and recognition

Adinyira is a member of the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council.[8] She received a national award for her contribution towards "enhancing the destiny of the Ghanaian child" from the Minister of Women and Children on the twentieth anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.[6]

Personal life

Adinyira is a member of the Anglican Church and has been the Provincial Chancellor of the Church of the Province of West Africa since 1993. In 2019, she was appointed and first female and lay Canon of the Cathedral Church of St Peter in the Anglican Diocese of Koforidua.[6] She served as vice moderator of the World Council of Churches in Geneva and was a member of its Central Committee from 2006 to 2013.[6] She is married with five children.[5]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Judges of UNAT. United Nations Appeals Tribunal. UNAT. 20 August 2016.
  2. Web site: Ofosu. James. Are Justices Atuguba and Adinyirah not hijacking the Court?. Myjoyonline. MyJoyonline. 20 August 2016.
  3. News: Justice Adinyira retires after 46 years. Baneseh, Mabel Aku. 1 August 2019. grahiconline.com.
  4. Web site: Justice Sophia Adinyira nominated EC Chair?. 17 July 2018. 27 July 2019. Prime News Cghana.
  5. Web site: Debates of 8 Mar 2006 . Odekro . 11 March 2020.
  6. Web site: Supreme court justice becomes Ghana's first female lay cathedral canon. 26 July 2019. 27 July 2019. Anglican News.
  7. Web site: Who takes over from Georgina Wood?. 9 May 2017. 27 July 2019. Ghana Web.
  8. News: Current Members. General Legal Council. 2017-02-25. en-US.