High Court rules OSP lacks authority to prosecute independently, cases to be handled by Attorney-General

• Accra High Court rules the OSP has no independent authority to prosecute and must refer cases to the Attorney-General.

• Decision follows a legal challenge and raises uncertainty over ongoing OSP prosecutions pending higher court direction.

• OSP rejects the ruling, insisting only the Supreme Court can determine the constitutionality of its mandate.

The Accra High Court has ruled that the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) does not have the constitutional power to independently prosecute criminal cases, ordering that all cases initiated by the anti-corruption body be transferred to the Attorney-General’s department.

The ruling, delivered on Wednesday, creates uncertainty around ongoing prosecutions by the OSP, effectively placing them in abeyance pending further legal direction.

Presiding judge, Justice John Eugene Nyadu Nyante, held that while the OSP is empowered to investigate corruption-related offences, it does not have constitutional authority to initiate prosecutions on its own.

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The court relied on Article 88 of the 1992 Constitution, which assigns prosecutorial powers to the Attorney-General.

The decision followed a legal challenge by Peter Achibold Hyde, who questioned the OSP’s authority to prosecute cases.

In reaction, the OSP strongly disagreed with the ruling, insisting that the court overstepped its jurisdiction.

In a statement issued shortly after the judgment, the office said it had already begun steps to challenge the decision at a higher court.

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“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. It is only the Supreme Court which can strike down parts of an Act of Parliament as unconstitutional,” the statement said.

The OSP further maintained that its powers under the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959) remain in force until the Supreme Court delivers a final ruling.

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The development is expected to heighten legal debate over the extent of the OSP’s mandate and the broader framework for prosecuting corruption-related cases in Ghana.

Meanwhile, a separate case pending before the Supreme Court is also questioning the legality of the OSP’s prosecutorial authority.

The suit, filed by private citizen Noah Ephraem Tetteh Adamtey, is asking the court to determine whether Parliament acted lawfully in granting the OSP power to initiate prosecutions without the Attorney-General’s approval.

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The Office of the Attorney-General has supported the plaintiff’s position, arguing that parts of the OSP’s mandate may be inconsistent with Article 88 of the Constitution.