On Tuesday, 18 September 2012, Justice Sophia A. B. Akuffo (Ghana) was elected President of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights 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 replaces Justice Gérard Niyungeko (Burundi) who served as the first President of the Court (2006-2008). Niyungeko was re-elected for the second term as President of the African Court for the period 2010-2012.

According to the Protocol establishing the African Court and the Rules of the Court, the President of the Court is elected among serving Judges of the Court for a two-year term renewable only once. She or he is the highest authority of the Court, presides over the sittings of the Court and supervises the administration of the Court.