EDUCATION : A product of Accra Academy and Achimota School, he studied at King’s College, University of Durham. Solicitor’s education (Law Society of England and Wales) New Castle Upon Tyne. 1958 – 1961. EXPERIENCE – Supreme Court Judge: He started his career as an Assistant Register General in 1962 at Accra. He has since served as a District, Circuit and High Court judge. He was a Court of Appeal judge from 1989 – 2000 and Supreme Court Judge 2000 – present. PERSONAL: – Married to Mary Lamptey; three children, and three grandchildren. George Lantei Lamptey, current Supreme Court Judge of the Republic of Ghana, is a native of Ashaabienaa of the James Town division of the City of Accra in what was then known and called the Gold Coast but at present christened Ghana. He was born on June 3rd, 1932 in Accra to Maa Kowa the wife of Akwete Aku of Onyaase a division of the Ga Mashie State.
He enjoyed a relatively customary childhood in his middle-class urban home. Lamptey attended Accra Academy from 1948 – 1951 then completed his education in Ghana at Achimota School. He pursued further studies at the University of Durham in the United Kingdom from 1955 – 1958. Immediately after completing his solicitor’s education in Newcastle Upon the Tyne in 1961, he proceeded home to assist the newly created nation of Ghana. Lamptey married Mary Halm, whom he had met during his law school years in 1959 at the Washington DC Cathedral, USA. He has worked on Intellectual property, Copyright and Company Law. By 1965, Lamptey had rising to the position of District Court Judge. Ten years later he was acting High Court Judge. He spent most of his career traveling all the regions of Ghana delivering compassionate justice to all who appeared before him.
From 1962 – 1965 he was a part-time lecturer at the School of Administration, University of Ghana. He has been an external examiner in the Ghana School of law from 1990 – present. His experience includes positions as Member, Constituent Assembly that produced the 1969 Constitution of Ghana (1968 – 1969), chairman of the Nanumba/Konkomba Commission of Inquiry, chairman, State Lands Commission, member, consultative assembly that produced the 1992 constitution of Ghana (1990 – 1992). He was a member of the Judicial Council from 1994 – 1996 and was a member of the Legal Service Board from 1996 – 2000.
George L. Lamptey’s service in the judiciary allowed him to witness dramatic transitions in Ghana’s political ideology. He has attended several conferences both at home and abroad. He has presented at colloquiums and workshops at the Commonwealth Association of Magistrates and Judges. His presentations vary from Law on juveniles, Jurisprudence and the Administration of Justice, Human Rights and Peoples Rights law, and Intellectual Property Laws. Lamptey was named to the highest court of the Republic of Ghana in July, 2000. On December 7, 2000, Lamptey — and fellow nominee, Mr. Justice Theodore Adzoe — took their oaths of office. In many ways, Lamptey’s desires to maintain high credibility for the Court and the law, the result of a general perception of judicial unity, has contributed greatly to his success in serving on Ghana’s highest court. He is a devoted Methodist and preaches in selected churches.
George and Mary are blessed with three children, Esther, Gifty and Francis.