The President of the Court

The President is the highest authority of the Court. S/he is deputized by a Vice-President. The President and Vice-President are elected among serving Judges of the Court for a two-year term renewable only once.

The President is the official representative of the Court. S/he presides over the sittings of the Court and supervises the administration of the Court.

Profile of the President

Justice Sophia A. B. Akuffo (President)
- Ghana

Justice Sophia A. B. Akuffo (Ghana) was elected President of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights on 18 September 2012 for a two-year term.

Justice Sophia A. B. Akuffo was first elected as a Judge in 2006 for a two-year term and re-elected in 2008 for a six-year term. She was elected as Vice-President of the African Court in September 2008 for a two-year term and re-elected in September 2010 for a final two-year term. She is a Judge of the Supreme Court of Ghana and a member of several organizations, including the Advisory Committee of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute.

Justice Sophia A. B. Akuffo is the third President of the Court. The previous Presidents were Justice Gérard Niyungeko (Burundi) who served as the first President of the Court (2006-2008;2010-2012) and Justice Jean Mutsinzi (Rwanda;2008-2010).

Her publications include: The Application of Information & Communication Technology in the Judicial Process - The Ghanaian Experience, presented to the African Judicial Network, Ghana (2002).

Click here to see Profiles of Former Presidents

Click here to see Profiles of Other Judges