The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has vowed to take immediate legal steps to challenge and overturn a High Court ruling that orders the Attorney-General’s Department to assume control over all criminal prosecutions currently being handled by the anti-corruption body.
The directive, issued on Wednesday, April 15, by Justice John Nyante Nyadu of the General Jurisdiction Division of the High Court in Accra, has triggered intense legal debate over the extent of the OSP’s prosecutorial authority under the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959).
In addition to directing the transfer of prosecutorial control, the court awarded costs of GH₵15,000 against the OSP.
In a statement released shortly after the ruling, the OSP expressed disagreement with the decision, arguing that the High Court exceeded its jurisdiction by effectively striking down parts of an Act of Parliament.
The OSP maintained that only the Supreme Court has the authority to declare provisions of an Act of Parliament unconstitutional.
“We are 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. It is only the Supreme Court which can strike down parts of an Act of Parliament as unconstitutional,” the statement said.
The OSP further assured the public that, notwithstanding the High Court ruling, all ongoing and intended criminal prosecutions remain valid and will proceed in line with its mandate under Act 959, which it insists is still in force until the Supreme Court rules otherwise.
“The OSP firmly assures the public that all the criminal prosecutions it has commenced before the courts and all the criminal prosecutions it is about to commence before the courts remain valid and would proceed based on its mandate under the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959), which remains valid and in force as the matter has not been decided by the Supreme Court,” the statement added.