Accra, Ghana//-A coalition of 14 civil society organisations (CSOs) on Wednesday 6, May filed an application before the Supreme Court of Ghana seeking leave to be joined as Amici Curiae in the constitutional action brought against the Attorney-General, in which the Plaintiff challenges the constitutionality of provisions of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959).
The Applicants are the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Transparency International Ghana, the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC), Democracy Hub LBG, STAR-Ghana Foundation, NORSAAC, Penplusbytes, the Africa Center for Energy Policy (ACEP), Odekro Parliamentary Monitoring Organisation, A Rocha Ghana, Parliamentary Network Africa (PN Africa), IMANI-Africa, the One Ghana Movement, and Africa Education Watch.
Several of the Applicants were closely engaged in the drafting and parliamentary passage of Act 959 in 2017, as well as in advocacy that led to the establishment of the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
Notably, the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition, CDD-Ghana, and Transparency International Ghana (then the Ghana Integrity Initiative) jointly submitted the most substantial civil society memorandum to the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs during the consideration of the Bill.
In a joint press release by the 14 CSOs on the filing of the application for leave to be joined as amici curiae in the Adamtey versus the Attorney-General case, it said: “The matter before the Court raises questions of profound constitutional importance and the Applicants approach the Supreme Court with the highest respect for its constitutional role as the guardian of the 1992 Constitution”.
The Applicants also commended the Supreme Court for its increasing receptiveness to amicus curiae participation in matters of public constitutional importance.
The Court’s openness to structured civil society engagement in constitutional adjudication has, in recent years, enriched the deliberative record before it and broadened the range of perspectives available to assist the Court in cases that bear directly on the public interest, they added.
“The Applicants regard this development as a welcome maturing of constitutional practice in Ghana. The Applicants take this opportunity to emphasise that their intervention is not partisan, adversarial, or personal to any party before the Court.
It is motivated solely by a shared commitment to constitutionalism, accountable governance, anti-corruption, institutional integrity, and the preservation of independent public institutions established to serve the Republic”, the release said.
The Applicants are confident that, if granted leave, their participation will assist the Supreme Court with relevant institutional memory, a public-interest perspective, comparative anti-corruption standards, and the constitutional argument necessary for the just determination of the matter.
The Coalition is represented by the following: Kizito Beyuo Esq. Oliver Barker Vormawor Esq. Samson Lardy Anyenini Esq. Clement Kojo Akapame Esq.
