Audio By Carbonatix
Convener of the Democracy Hub, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, says the Supreme Court's unanimous dismissal of the suit challenging the prosecutorial powers of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) preserves the Attorney General's constitutional authority over prosecutions while underscoring the need for constitutional reforms.
Reacting to the judgment, Barker-Vormawor said the court's decision reflects the limitations imposed by Ghana's current constitutional framework on Parliament's ability to grant the OSP full prosecutorial independence.
"What the court has done is essentially preserve the Attorney General's power to oversee all prosecutions," he said.
According to him, many legal observers had long argued that the Constitution constrained how far Parliament could go in designing the powers of the OSP.
Barker-Vormawor said the ruling should not be seen as a setback for the anti-corruption fight but rather as a roadmap for future reforms.
"The way forward, I think, is that the court gives us a clear direction that we need constitutional reform to fix some of the issues that have come up," he stated.
His comments come after the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed a constitutional challenge to the OSP's prosecutorial powers, a decision widely viewed as affirming the legality of the office's operations while maintaining the Attorney General's constitutional oversight of criminal prosecutions.
The ruling is expected to enable the OSP to proceed with pending corruption prosecutions, even as legal experts continue to advocate constitutional amendments to provide the anti-graft agency with greater prosecutorial independence.
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