GHANA
2025 CONSTITUTION REVIEW
GHANA 2025 CONSTITUTION REVIEW
Prof. Henry Kwasi Prempeh
Chairman
H. Kwasi Prempeh has been the Executive Director of Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) since 2019, having previously served as its Director of Legal Policy and Governance and a founding board member. From 2003 to 2015, he was a tenured professor at Seton Hall University School of Law (NJ, USA), teaching constitutional law and corporate law courses. He has also been a visiting professor at GIMPA Law School and Central European University (Budapest, Hungary), where he has co-taught the "Constitution Building in Africa" course since 2014. His international work includes serving as a constitutional adviser to the UN Special Envoy to Yemen in connection with the design and writing of a post-conflict constitution for the Middle Eastern country, consulting on constitutional reforms in South Sudan and The Gambia, and serving multiple times as a resource person to the Kenyan Supreme Court on constitutional and election adjudication matters. Previously, he practised as an attorney in Washington, D.C., with O’Melveny & Myers LLP and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. Prempeh holds a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School, where he was Notes Editor of the Yale Law Journal and a Coker Fellow (teaching assistant). He also has an MBA from Baylor University, Texas, and a BSc (Admin) degree from the University of Ghana Business School. Prempeh was awarded the Order of the Volta in 2023 for his role as special counsel in the Ghana-Côte d’Ivoire Maritime Boundary Delimitation case. He served on the Ghana Law Reform Commission from 2017 to 2024 and was recently a Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow at the Robert Bosch Academy, Berlin.
Dr. Rainer Akumperigya, Esq.
Secretary
Dr. Rainer Akumperigya is a founding partner at Partners and Associates, an Accra-based law firm specializing in legal consultancy for corporate entities and international oil companies. With over a decade of experience in litigation, he has played a key role in a number of corporate mergers and joint ventures. Dr. Akumperigya has lectured in an adjunct or guest lecturer capacity at law faculties in Ghana, including UPSA Law School and GIMPA Law School, and at the CAS European Institute, and authored or co-authored various academic publications. His principal academic and research interests are in the areas of constitutional theory and practice, upstream risk governance and land law management systems in Africa. Dr. Akumperigya holds a PhD in Law and LLM from the University of Aberdeen, UK., and LLB from the University of Ghana and a BL from the Ghana School of Law.
Justice Sophia O.A. Adinyira
Justice (Mrs) Sophia O. A. Adinyira (née Ohene) retired from the bench in 2019 after a distinguished thirty-year career, thirteen of those years as a Justice of the Supreme Court, having previously sat on the Court of Appeal and the High Court. Justice Adinyira chaired the Judicial Training Institute (2017-19) and the Council for Law Reporting (2015-16). She also served as a member of the Judicial Council (2015-2017) and the MGeneral Legal Council (2013-2019) and was an external examiner in family law and practice for the Ghana School of Law (2010-2015) At the international level, Justice Adinyira served as a Judge of the United Nations Appeals Tribunal (UNAT), becoming President, Second and First Vice-President of UNAT at various times from 2009 to 2016. Justice Adinyira has participated in several national and international conferences, seminars and training programs and delivered public lectures and papers on a wide range of subjects, including gender and human rights, child protection, juvenile justice, access to justice, judicial integrity, and tackling judicial corruption and ensuring efficient case management. Prior to her appointment to the bench in 1989, Justice Adinyira served as a state attorney in the Attorney-General’s Department, rising to the position of Principal State Attorney. Justice Adinyira was called to the Ghana bar in 1973, having received her LLB (Hons.) and BL from the University of Ghana. In 2010, she was awarded the UNCRC@20 Award by the Department of Children (MOWAC) in recognition of her contribution towards enhancing the Destiny of the Ghanaian child. She has been actively involved in Church Ecumenism from 1998 to 2013, having served as the Vice Moderator of the World Council of Churches in Geneva from 1998 to 2006. Currently, she concentrates on her role in the Anglican Church of Ghana, where she serves as Chancellor of the Anglican Diocese of Koforidua, and Provincial Chancellor of the Church of the Province of West Africa (Anglican Communion). She is an immediate past member of the Governing Council of the Anglican University College of Technology, Nkoranza.
Charlotte A. Kesson-Smith Osei, Esq.
Mrs. Osei has over 30 years’ experience as a lawyer, with professional expertise across the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors. She is a former chair of Ghana’s Electoral Commission and, before that, of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), becoming the first person/woman to head both independent constitutional bodies. She has held several key international roles, including serving as President of the African Association of Election Authorities, Vice Chairperson of the Executive Board of the African Capacity Building Foundation, and a UN-appointed International Elections Commissioner in Afghanistan, where she helped strengthen electoral dispute resolution. She has also led ECOWAS election missions in Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone and serves as a non-executive director of the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa. A Barrister & Solicitor of Ghana’s Supreme Court since 1994, Charlotte Osei is Founder and Managing Consultant of Cyrus Law, a boutique business law firm in Accra, with a practice focus on wealth and legacy law, public-private partnerships and family businesses. She holds an LLM from Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada, a Masters in Business Leadership from the University of South Africa, Pretoria, and an LLB Hons degree from the University of Ghana Legon.
Dr. Esi E. Ansah
Dr. Esi E. Ansah is the Executive Director of the Center for Leadership at Ashesi University, where she designs and delivers leadership programs for senior executives across various sectors. With over 20 years of experience in higher education and corporate Ghana, she specializes in leadership development, HR consulting, service quality, social entrepreneurship, and public sector reform. She holds three bachelor’s degrees in Psychology, International Affairs, and French from Florida State University, an MA in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago, an MSc in Public Service Management from DePaul University, and a PhD in Public Administration from Rutgers University, all in the United States. Since joining Ashesi University in 2008, she has taught Leadership, Human Resource Management, Negotiation, and Organizational Behavior, receiving multiple awards for her effective teaching style. She also founded Axis Human Capital Ltd., providing corporate training and career coaching for the last 16 years. Passionate about social impact, she established the Association of Ghana’s Elders (AGE) in 2013 to support and advocate on behalf of senior citizens. She climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2015 to raise awareness and funds for AGE. Dr. Ansah serves on several boards, including AROCSA, Emerging Public Leaders Ghana, Springboard Road Show Foundation, and Telecel Ghana Foundation. She is a Fellow of the Aspen Institute’s Africa Leadership Initiative - West Africa (ALIWA) and an active member of the Legon Interdenominational Church (LIC).
Prof. Kwame Karikari
Professor Kwame Karikari has had a distinguished career as a journalist, activist, and academic. He retired as a Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Ghana, where he also served as Director of the School of Communications. He later became Dean of Communication Studies at Wisconsin University (Ghana). His public service and leadership roles include serving as Director-General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (1982-1984), Chairman of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (2012-2018) and a member of the National Media Commission. Professor Karikari started his journalism career with various local newspapers in the the U.S., including the Augusta Weekly and Africa News, before returning to Ghana in 1979 to begin his academic career. A committed freedom of expression and social justice activist, he founded and led the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), has consulted for UNESCO, ECOWAS, served on the Press Freedom Commission of South Africa, and other international media and human rights organizations, and organized journalism workshops across Africa. A trained teacher, Professor Karikari studied at Komenda Training College and Advanced Teacher Training College (now University of Education, Winneba) before earning a BA in Philosophy and Political Science from the City College of New York and an MA in Journalism from Columbia University. In 2023, the University of Ghana awarded him an honorary Doctor of Letters for his contributions to press freedom and journalism.
Alhaji Ibrahim-Tanko Amidu
Alhaji Ibrahim-Tanko Amidu is a social development expert with over 30 years’ experience in development management, social development and institutional and organisational strengthening. He has led the development and implementation of programmes and initiatives to improve the governance of public goods and services delivery in Ghana, promote democratic, accountable and responsive governance, strengthen institutions, and build and enhance peace and security. He is currently the Executive Director of STAR-Ghana Foundation. A national center for active citizenship and local philanthropy, the Foundation works to strengthen civil society and enable citizens to engage with state and non-state actors to ensure accountable, transparent, and responsive governance. Widely respected as a thought leader on issues of inclusive and sustainable development, peace and security and good governance, Alhaji Ibrahim-Tanko has spoken and led discussions on these issues at various international, national, and local forums. His contributions have earned him numerous awards, including the World Bank’s first Leadership Prize for Social Accountability in Africa. He was made an Honorary Fellow by the Ghana Institute of Directors in 2018 and sits on the boards of a number of international, national and local civil society organisations. Ibrahim-Tanko holds a Master’s degree in Social Policy from the Centre for Social Policy Studies, University of Ghana, Legon and a Bachelor’s degree in Administration from the School of Administration, University of Ghana, Legon. He is currently pursuing PhD in Social Policy at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Dr. Godwin Dzokoto
Dr. Godwin Djokoto is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana School of Law, where his teaching and scholarship interests include Immovable Property Law, Banking Law, Equity and Succession, Contract Law, Ocean Law, and International Maritime Conflict Management. He is the coordinator of the Ocean Governance Project at the University of Ghana and has extensive legal consultancy and private practice experience in banking, fisheries management, land law, and construction regulation. Dr. Djokoto has played a key role in maritime governance and international law, serving as a member of the expert panel for Ghana’s Ocean Governance Study (2023) and a legal and technical representative in the Ghana-Côte d’Ivoire Maritime Boundary Dispute before ITLOS. He has also worked with FAO and IIED on governance guidelines for land, forestry, and fisheries and is a representative on the Technical Working Group revising the Gulf of Guinea Commission Treaty. A member of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, International Law Association, World Jurist Association, and Ghana Bar Association, Dr. Djokoto has authored peer-reviewed articles, "The Law of Mortgages in Ghana," and serves as Editor of the Commercial Law Reports of Ghana. He holds a Ph.D. from the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS) at the University of Wollongong, Australia, an LL.M from Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, Canada, and an LL.B from the University of Ghana, Legon. After completing his Qualifying Certificate of Law (QCL) at the Ghana School of Law, he was called to the Ghana Bar in 2003. He was a awarded the Order of the Volta, Companion, in 2023 for his role in connection with the Ghana-Côte d’Ivoire Maritime Boundary Delimitation Dispute before ITLOS in Hamburg.