The prosecutorial landscape is set for a significant shift after the High Court directed the Attorney-General to assume control of all criminal cases
The prosecutorial landscape is set for a significant shift after the High Court directed the Attorney-General to assume control of all criminal cases being handled by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), pending proper constitutional authorization for the anti-graft body to prosecute.
The disclosure was made by Deputy Attorney-General Justice Srem-Sai, who confirmed that the Office of the Attorney-General will comply fully with the court’s order and begin steps to take over the affected prosecutions in the coming days.
The ruling, delivered by the High Court in Accra presided by Justice John Eugene Nyadu Nyante arose from a case involving Peter Archibald Hyde, an accused person being prosecuted by the OSP. Hyde challenged the authority of the OSP to initiate and conduct criminal prosecutions, asking the court to compel the office to demonstrate that it had received the necessary authorization from the Attorney-General to proceed.
In court, counsel for Hyde argued that both the 1992 Constitution and the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959) require the OSP to exercise prosecutorial powers only with the authorization of the Attorney-General.
The argument was grounded in Article 88 of the Constitution, which vests prosecutorial authority in the Attorney-General as the principal legal advisor to the state.
According to court records cited by the Deputy Attorney-General, the OSP was unable to provide evidence that it had obtained such authorization.
This failure formed the basis of the court’s decision to order that the Attorney-General take over all prosecutions initiated by the OSP until appropriate constitutional requirements are satisfied.
Justice Srem-Sai emphasized that the Attorney-General’s office has no intention of disregarding the court’s directive.
He noted that steps are already being initiated to implement the order, signaling a transition of prosecutorial responsibility from the OSP to the Attorney-General’s Department in affected cases.
The development adds a new layer to an ongoing legal and constitutional debate over the powers of the OSP, which was established in 2018 under former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to investigate and prosecute corruption-related offences involving public officials.
Since its creation, the scope of the OSP’s prosecutorial authority has been a subject of contention, with legal experts divided on whether the office can independently prosecute cases or must operate under the authority of the Attorney-General.
The latest High Court ruling appears to reinforce the latter interpretation, at least temporarily.
The decision also has immediate implications for several ongoing high-profile cases being handled by the OSP, potentially altering the trajectory of prosecutions and raising broader questions about the operational independence of the anti-corruption institutions.
The OSP has indicated in separate communications that it intends to challenge the ruling at the Supreme Court and maintain its mandate.
COMMENTS