Justice Appau approved for Supreme Court

Parliament unanimously approved the nominations of Justice Yaw Appau and Gabriel Pwamang as Supreme Court Judges during its sitting yesterday.

Members on both sides of the House heaped praises on the two newly appointed justices for their experiences at the bar and on the bench and also for acquitting them­selves during the vetting by the Appointments Committee of Parliament.

Justice Yaw Appau was singled out for his outstanding performance and incisive comments on the Ya-Na case and the Sodom and Gomorrah issue which he presided over.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Wenchi, Prof George Gyan Baffour, said he had personally known Justice Appau for a very long time and so he would be fair and firm as a judge at the Supreme Court.

"I know Justice Appau is a very principled man and I don't have any doubt about his competence," the Wenchi MP said, stressing that his appointment to the Supreme Court is in the larger interest of the country.

Both the majority leader, Alban Bagbin and the deputy majority leader, Alfred Agbesi heaped praises on the two newly appointed judges.

Mr Bagbin said he and Justice Appau were mates in law school, revealing that they were both called to the bar at the same time.

He said he knows Justice Appau as an effective person with a lot of integrity.

The chairman of the Appointments Committee, Ebo Barton-Odro, said during the vetting that two petitions were brought against Gabriel Pwamang and after carefully studying them (petitions), the committee concluded that the petitions were not within the ambit of parliament to deal with and so the petitioners were advised to resort to the court for the settlement of those cases.

The Committee therefore proceeded with the vetting and recommended the approval of the two seasoned judges based on the conviction of the Committee that they were good materials for the Supreme Court.