Akua Kuenyehia (born 1947) is a Ghanaian academic and

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

who served as

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

of the International Criminal Court (ICC) from 2003 to 2015. She also served as First Vice-president of the Court. She was one of the three female African judges at the ICC. Kuenyehia represented Ghana on the United Nations' Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) committee in 2003 and worked hard to contribute to its reputation and influence. Kuenyehia is an Honorary Fellow of Somerville College. She is a member of the Crimes Against Humanity Initiative Advisory Council, a project of the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis to establish the world's first treaty on the prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity.

Education and early career

Kuenyehia was educated at

Achimota School Achimota School ( /ɑːtʃimoʊtɑː/ ), formerly Prince of Wales College and School at Achimota, later Achimota College, now nicknamed Motown, is a co-educational boarding school located at Achimota in Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana. The school wa ...

, University of Ghana and

Somerville College, Oxford Somerville College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. Among its alumnae have been Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy Hodgkin, Ir ...

. She has spent most of her professional career teaching at the University of Ghana, as Dean of Law, and as a visiting professor at other institutions including

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

and Temple University. She is the President of

Mountcrest University College Mountcrest University College is a private co-ed tertiary institution in Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, s ...

, Ghana. The Law Faculty Building at the University of Ghana, Legon, was named in joint honour of President John Atta Mills and Professor Kuenyehia.

Judge of the International Criminal Court, 2003–2015

In March 2009, judges chose Kuenyehia as well as Anita Ušacka of

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

for appeals positions. Three months later, both of them had to step down from an appeal in the case of Germain Katanga of the Democratic Republic of Congo, on trial for war crimes and

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

, because they had previously issued his arrest warrant.

Books

* ''Women and Law in West Africa'' (2003). Accra, Ghana, WaLWA. * With Butegwa, F., & S. Nduna (2000). ''Legal Rights Organizing for Women in Africa: A Trainer's Manual''. Harare, Zimbabwe, WiLDAF. * With Bowman, C. G. (2003). ''Women and Law in Sub-Saharan Africa''. Accra, Ghana: Sedco. .

Recognition

In 2013, the University of Ghana named a newly constructed faculty of law building after Kuenyehia.UG names new Faculty of Law building
''Vibe Ghana'', July 3, 2013.

References

External links

"Prof Akua Kuenyehia Re-Elected"
''Graphic Ghana'', 30 January 2006.
"Interview with Prof Akua Kuenyehia"
April 2003 newsletter, WiLDAF/FeDDAF.
"Prof. Kuenyehia Speaks Out Against Polygamy"
GhanaWeb, 19 February 2003. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuenyehia, Akua 20th-century Ghanaian lawyers Alumni of Achimota School International Criminal Court judges 1947 births Living people Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford University of Ghana alumni Ghanaian women judges Fellows of Somerville College, Oxford Ghanaian judges of international courts and tribunals 21st-century Ghanaian judges 21st-century women judges