The Deputy Attorney-General, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, and members of Civil Society Organisations have appeared at the Supreme Court for proceedings in the landmark constitutional case challenging the prosecutorial powers of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).

The case — filed on December 12, 2025, by private legal practitioner Noah Ephraem Tetteh Adamtey — invokes the exclusive original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to determine whether the OSP's exercise of prosecutorial powers is unconstitutional.

In the suit, Adamtey argues that Parliament exceeded its constitutional mandate by creating an office with independent prosecutorial powers, contending that Articles 88(3) and 88(4) of the Constitution vest prosecutorial authority solely in the Attorney-General.

In an unusual development, the Attorney-General's office has not taken the opposite side. In a draft statement of case filed at the Supreme Court, the Attorney-General argues that Article 88(3) of the 1992 Constitution solely vests prosecutorial powers in that office, and that Parliament acted unconstitutionally by passing the OSP Act, 2017 (Act 959), which made it compulsory for the Attorney-General to delegate part of its prosecutorial powers to the OSP.

Dr Srem-Sai has previously stated that any move to grant full prosecutorial independence to the OSP would require a constitutional amendment.

"If you want the OSP to be independent of the Attorney General and would not require the Attorney General's authorisation, then you need to amend Article 88," he said.

Civil society organisations have intervened to push back. A seven-member panel of the Supreme Court, chaired by Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, granted an application by 14 CSOs seeking to join the case as amicus curiae — friends of the court.

The organisations, which include the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), IMANI Africa, Transparency International Ghana, Democracy Hub, STAR-Ghana Foundation, NORSAAC, Penplusbytes, ACEP, Odekro, A Rocha Ghana, Parliamentary Network Africa, One Ghana Movement, and Africa Education Watch, argued that their expertise in governance and anti-corruption advocacy would assist the court in determining the issues in dispute.

In a joint statement, the groups said their involvement is aimed at supporting constitutional interpretation and is not driven by partisan or personal interests.

"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 statement said.

The OSP itself has been shut out of the proceedings. The Supreme Court earlier dismissed an application by the office to be joined as a party in the suit, ruling that the OSP is not a necessary party and that the issues raised can be effectively determined without its participation.

The case arrives amid significant legal turbulence around the OSP's operations. A High Court decision delivered on April 15, 2026, held that the OSP does not have the constitutional authority to independently prosecute criminal cases without authorisation from the Attorney-General's Department, and directed that all ongoing OSP prosecutions be transferred to the Attorney-General.

The Attorney-General's office has indicated it will urge the Supreme Court to hear the Adamtey case without delay, with Dr Srem-Sai saying: "It will be a bit much of a rush to start doing something now when we know that the Supreme Court decision will have a direct impact on what we are doing."

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Deputy AG, 14 CSOs Go To Supreme Court Over OSP Prosecution Powers

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