CJ ends tenure with thanksgiving service
Chief Justice Mrs Justice Theodora Wood ended her term in office with a thanksgiving service at the Cathedral Church of the Most Holy Trinity in Accra last Tuesday.
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The well-attended church service for Justice Wood, the first female Chief Justice of the country, ended in praise and worship. It was an all white event.
In attendance were the Speaker of Parliament, Professor Mike A. Oquaye; the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr David Asante Apeatu; former Speaker of Parliament, Mr Ebenezer B. Sakyi Hughes; judges, lawyers, members of staff of the Judicial Service, family and friends of Justice Wood.
The thanksgiving service, dubbed “Service of Praise and Thanksgiving,” was filled with hymns and praises.
It was a moment of joy and emotion when Justice Wood was presented with gifts.
She took pictures with almost all the guests, including her security escort.
It was a moving scene, as members of staff of the Judicial Service attempted to take turns to have a photo shot with her. She obliged with smiles.
Achievements
The former Anglican Bishop of Accra, Most Rev. Dr Justice Ofei Akrofi, outlined the achievements of the Chief Justice.
Key among them are massive infrastructure development, strengthening of the rule of law and speedy justice delivery, improvement in conditions of service for judges and staff of the Judicial Service.
Continuing Education
Justice Wood has sought opportunities in leading universities in the United States of America (USA) and Europe for post-graduate studies (LLM) for Ghana’s Judiciary.
So far, 40 judges have benefited from Master’s in Law training in different disciplines.
Under the collaborations that her administration has negotiated, members of the Ghanaian Bench have pursued advanced degrees in such diverse branches of law such as information and communications technology, tax, transnational legal practice, international law and justice, intellectual property and maritime law, building judicial capacity and professional competencies.
Her mentoring programme, which began 10 years ago, has so far benefited more than 1,000 students. Some have been called to the Bar while others are currently pursuing law.
Female head porters (Kayayei) have for the past three years benefited from the mentoring programme.
The last batch told her she should not be surprised if some of them ended up being lawyers in the near future.
Thanksgiving message
Presenting Justice Wood’s message of gratitude on her behalf, the Judicial Secretary, Mr Justice Alex Poku-Acheampong, said she decided to offer thanks to God for seeing her through her tenure.
Her message was full of praise and thanksgiving to God.
She thanked her church, judges and staff of the Judicial Service for their support during her time in office.