Edward Kwame Wiredu

Edward Kwame Wiredu
10th Chief Justice of Ghana (22nd including Gold Coast)
In office 2001–2003
Appointed by	John Kufuor
Preceded by	Isaac Kobina Abban
Succeeded by	George Kingsley Acquah
Personal details
Born	c 1936
Died	31 January 2008, aged 73

Edward Kwame Wiredu (c. 1936 – 31 January 2008) was the Chief Justice of Ghana between 2001 and 2003.^[1] He was the tenth since Ghana became an independent nation. He is noted for introducing the Fast Track High Courts in Ghana as well as Alternate Dispute Resolution and the Judicial Institute.

Early life

Edward Wiredu was educated at the Accra Academy^[2] in Accra and the Adisadel College at Cape Coast in the Central Region of Ghana. He then went on to the Kumasi College of Science and Technology, which is now the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).^[3]

Career

Wiredu was called to the British bar in 1960. He went on to serve on the Bench for a total of 34 years after having been in private practice. He was appointed a High Court Judge in 1969. After the abortive coup of 15 May 1979, he was noted to have entered a plea of not guilty for Jerry Rawlings although Rawlings himself had pleaded guilty during his trial.^[4] In 1980, he was elevated to be an Appeal Court Judge. He became a Supreme Court Judge in 1990. He was appointed Chief Justice in the Fourth Republic by John Kufuor at the beginning of his presidency on 9 November 2001. He is considered by some to be a strong advocate for the independence of the Judiciary.^[5] He retired as Chief Justice in May 2003 for health reasons.

See also

• Judiciary of Ghana
• Supreme Court of Ghana

References

1. "List of Chief Justices". Official Website. Judicial Service of Ghana. Archived from the original on 2007-04-03. Retrieved 2007-04-13.
2. 30-11-2002. Chief Justice Wiredu for court, www.ghanaweb.com, Retrieved on:10-08-2009.
3. "State burial service for Chief Justice Wiredu". General News of Thursday, 27 March 2008. Ghana Home Page. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
4. "Ex-Chief Justice Wiredu is dead". General News of Friday, 1 February 2008. Ghana Home Page. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
5. Adu-Asare, Yaw (2006-03-29). "CJ Acquah Against Executive Interference in the Judiciary". Feature Article. Ghana Home Page. Retrieved 2007-04-13. Chief Justice Wiredu was a fierce and relentless defender of independence of the Judiciary, as a branch of government. He resisted interference from both the Executive and Parliament in the running of the Judicial Service, but in the final analysis, he recognized so often that his domain fell to the power of those who pulled the purse strings in government, so to speak.... In his capacity as head of the Judicial Service, Chief Justice Emmanuel K. Wiredu in early 2002 admonished the ministry of finance about what he described as unconstitutional behavior with respect to the budget allocation for the Service.