Supreme Court judge nominee Justice Dennis Dominic Adjei has delivered a thought-provoking critique of Ghana's legal framework, questioning the apparent inconsistency between the legal age for marriage and the age of sexual consent.
During his vetting before Parliament's Appointments Committee on Monday, June 16, 2025, Justice Adjei posed a poignant rhetorical question that highlighted a complex societal and legal conundrum: "If you cannot marry at 16?
Why have sex at 16?" Justice Adjei's comment directly challenges the different age thresholds stipulated by various Ghanaian laws.
While Ghana's Children's Act of 1998 sets the minimum age for marriage at 18 years for both males and females, the Criminal Offences Act of 1960 pegs the age of sexual consent at 16 years.
