He served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana from 3 October 2018 until his retirement on 28 July 2023.

In the area of Private Law, Kotey has delivered a number of significant decisions including Ecobank Ghana Limited v. Aluminium Industries Limited (On the Distinction Between the Tort of Negligence and Negligent Breach of Contract and the Consequences Flowing therefrom), Opanin Agyarkwa & Ors v. Folagin & Ors (On the Conditions on which it would be Unlawful for a Court to Set Aside its Judgment), Tieso Ghana Limited v. Euroget De-Investa SA (On the Primacy and Interpretation of Arbitration Clauses in Contracts) and Nii Stephen Maley Nai v. East Dadekotopon Development Trust (On Urbanisation and Land Use Change in Accra and Its Impacts on the Operation of the Doctrine of Estoppel).

Prior to his elevation to the bench, Kotey had spent over thirty-five years in teaching, research, consulting, legal practice and senior management.

[8] He was a visiting scholar to the Pritzker School of Law, Chicago from May to June 2001, a visiting professor of Human Rights and Democratization in Africa to the Center for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria from March to April 2001, a visiting scholar at the Queens University of Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom in March 2000 and at the faculty of law of the University of Leiden, Netherlands from August to September 1999, and a visiting professor at the College of Law, Stetson University, Florida USA in 1997.

[8] In 2007, consistent with his firmly held belief that academic research and publication must be rooted in practical hands-on experience, he applied for and was appointed Chief Executive of the Ghana Forestry Commission[8] through a competitive process.

Reverend Professor Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante, the Chancellor of the Presbyterian University College (PUCG) who is also the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG), as the Chairman of the 13-member Governing Council of the University College, a position he occupies till date.

al., Legal and Institutional Issues in Land Policy Reform, ISSER Technical Publication No.

2004 - With Ellen Bortei-Doku Aryeetey, "Household Patterns and Conjugal Rights" in Akua Kuenyehia, (ed.)

Policies that Work for Forests and People Series No.4, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), London.

1997 - "Human Rights and Administrative Justice in Ghana under the Fourth Republic", in Costa, J-P and Canania G.

al. "Policies Affecting Forests and People: Ten Elements that Work" (1997) Commonwealth Forestry Review 76(3), 186.

Incentives for Sustainable Forest Management: A Study in Ghana, IIED Forestry and Land Use Series No.

Local Institutions and Adaptive Forest Management in Ghana, IIED Forestry and Land Use Series No.

al. "Incentives for the Sustainable Management of the Tropical High Forest in Ghana" (1994) Commonwealth Forestry Review 73 (3), pp.

1985 - "The African Charter on Human and People's Rights: An Exposition, Analysis and Critique", (1982-85) 16 University of Ghana Law Journal pp.

He proceeded to St. Thomas Aquinas Senior High School in 1966, where he obtained his Ordinary Level ('O'-Level) certificate in 1971.

He continued at Apam Senior High School that same year for his Advanced Level ('A'-Level) certificate which he received in 1973.

[9] In October 1973, he entered the University of Ghana to study law at bachelor's degree level.

[8] He proceeded to the United Kingdom to pursue a post graduate degree in law (LL.M) which he obtained from the University of London in 1977.