The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has announced plans to overturn a recent High Court ruling that declared the anti-corruption body lacks independent authority to prosecute criminal cases.
In a statement posted on its official Facebook page on Wednesday, April 15, the OSP described the ruling as legally flawed and insisted that the court exceeded its constitutional mandate.
“The OSP states that it is taking steps to quickly overturn the decision of the General Jurisdiction Court since the High Court does not have jurisdiction to, in effect, strike down parts of an Act of Parliament as unconstitutional,” the statement said.
The anti-graft body further argued that the power to invalidate provisions of legislation rests exclusively with the Supreme Court of Ghana.
“It is only the Supreme Court which can strike down parts of an Act of Parliament as unconstitutional,” the OSP emphasised.
The response follows a ruling delivered on Wednesday by the High Court of Ghana in Accra, presided over by Justice John Eugene Nyadu Nyante.
The court held that although the OSP has the authority to investigate corruption-related offences, it lacks constitutional power to independently initiate prosecutions. The decision relied on Article 88 of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution, which vests prosecutorial authority in the Attorney-General’s Department.
The case arose from an application for quo warranto filed by Peter Achibold Hyde, who questioned the legal basis for the OSP’s prosecutorial role.
OSP Defends Its Mandate
In its statement, the OSP defended its prosecutorial authority, maintaining that its enabling law—the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act—clearly empowers it to both investigate and prosecute corruption-related offences.
The office warned that allowing the ruling to stand could undermine the fight against corruption and weaken institutional efforts to hold public officials accountable.
Supreme Court Case Adds Further Complexity
The situation is further complicated by a separate constitutional case currently pending before the Supreme Court of Ghana, which is also challenging the legality of the OSP’s prosecutorial powers.
That case was filed by private citizen Noah Ephraem Tetteh Adamtey, who is seeking a determination on whether Parliament acted constitutionally in granting independent prosecutorial authority to the OSP.
Significantly, the Office of the Attorney-General has aligned with the central argument of the plaintiff in the Supreme Court case, indicating in its submissions that provisions allowing the OSP to prosecute without the Attorney-General’s authorisation may conflict with Article 88 of the Constitution.
Legal analysts say the combined effect of the High Court ruling and the pending Supreme Court case could have far-reaching implications for the future of the OSP and Ghana’s anti-corruption framework.
For now, the OSP has signalled its intention to challenge the High Court decision, setting the stage for what is expected to become a major constitutional test of the office’s powers.
Myjoyonline
