James Coussey

Sir James Henley Coussey QC KBE (1891 – 6 June 1958) was a Ghanaian jurist, Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court of the Gold Coast, 1944–52[1], and President of the West African Court of Appeal, 1955–58.[2] Following the Accra Riots of 1948, he was commissioned by the United Kingdom to devise a Constitution for the Gold Coast, chairing the Committee on Constitutional Reform.[3] He was conferred a knighthood by King George VI on 8 June 1950.[4] Known as the Coussey Report, the work of the Committee informed the 1951 Constitution, paving the way for the Gold Coast's ultimate independence in 1957.

Early life

He was the son of Charles Louis Romaine Pierre Coussey (1857–1940)[5], a lawyer and merchant of the United Africa Company (UAC), and Ambah Orbah.[6] Before serving with the UAC, known then as Messrs. F & A Swanzy, Charles Coussey was the officer for the Borneo Company at Axim.[7]

His sister, Anne Marie Coussey, was involved with Langston Hughes, having met him in Paris in 1924. John Alcindor, a friend of Anne's father, was sent to Paris to put an end to their acquaintance.[8] She later married Sir Hugh Wooding, a jurist from Trinidad and Tobago.

Education

Coussey was educated at Hampton School, England. He was called to the bar at Middle Temple on 16 April 1913 [9] on the same evening as Sir Stafford Cripps.[10]

Family

Coussey married Irene Dorothy Biney (1905–2003), the daughter of Joseph Edward Biney, a Barrister from Cape Coast, Gold Coast, who held shares in the Ashanti Goldfields[11] and Jessica Russell, in 1930 in Accra, and had issue:

  1. James Romaine Henley Coussey QC OBE, a Senior Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service.[12]
  2. Russell Coussey,
  3. Christine Coussey, and
  4. Marie Coussey.

The Cousseys lived for the most part at The Arches, Accra, before their return to England.

Funeral

Coussey died on Friday, 6 June 1958, in Accra, Ghana, aged 67 years.[13] He had retired from his work in January 1958.

A memorial service took place at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, presided by the Bishop of Accra, the Reverend R. Roseveare. The Assistant Bishop of Accra, the Reverend E. D. Martinson, gave an address, and the Reverend Austen Williams, the Vicar of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, and Mr S. N. Grant-Bailey read the lesson.

Major-General Sir Ralph Hone represented the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations, and Sir Kenneth Roberts-Wray represented the Secretary of State for the Colonies. The High Commissioner for Ghana, Sir Ian Maclennan, and the Governor-General of Nigeria, Sir James Robertson, were also in attendance. The International Law Association, the General Council of the Bar, the Royal Commonwealth Society, and the Royal African Society were represented.[14]

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References
  1. The London Gazette, 17 March 1944, Issue 36430, p. 1286.
  2. Ibhawoh, Bonny (2013). Imperial Justice: Africans in Empire's Court. Oxford University Press. p. 41.
  3. "Coussey Report, 1949". National Archives.
  4. The London Gazette, 2 June 1950, Issue 38929, p. 2776.
  5. "WHO'S WHO 2019".
  6. Rampersad, Arnold (2001). The Life of Langston Hughes: Volume I: 1902–1941, I, Too, Sing America, Volume 1. Oxford University Press. pp. 86–7.
  7. "Mercantile Navy List, 1896 and 1899". Mercantile Navy List, 1896 and 1899.
  8. Green, Jeffrey (1998). Black Edwardians: Black People in Britain, 1901–1914. p. 265.
  9. WHO'S WHO 2019.
  10. 'Daily Herald, 29 October 1949.
  11. Danquah, Joseph Boakye (1970). Journey to Independence and After (J.B. Danquah's Letters) 1947–1965: 1949–1951. Waterville Pub. House. p. 32.
  12. "Queen's Birthday Honours, 2010". Bromley Times. 17 June 2010.
  13. Probate of 10 June 1959, England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858–1995.
  14. Newspaper cuttings, titles unknown, 1958.
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