The Supreme Court has granted leave for a coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) to join an ongoing constitutional case challenging the prosecutorial powers of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), ruling that the groups could assist the court in reaching a “lasting” decision on the matter.
The seven-member panel was presided over by Chief Justice, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, and comprised Justices Avril Lovelace-Johnson, Gabriel Scott Pwamang, Emmanuel Yonny Kulendi, Ernest Yao Gaewu, Gbiel Simon Suurbaareh, and Senyo Dzamefe.
The court admitted the organisations after hearing a motion moved by their lawyer, Kizito Beyuo on behalf of the applicants.
The CSOs seeking to join the suit include Transparency International, the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC), STAR-Ghana Foundation, PenPlusBytes, Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), IMANI Africa, One Ghana Movement, Africa Education Watch and other governance-focused groups.
The substantive suit was filed by private citizen Noah Adamptey against the Attorney-General, questioning the constitutionality of the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s power to independently institute criminal prosecutions without prior authorisation from the Attorney-General.
At Tuesday’s hearing, Deputy Attorney-General Dr Justice Srem-Sai told the court that the state was not opposing the motion for joinder.
“We are not opposed to the motion. We have a letter from the plaintiff, but we can proceed,” he said.
Moving the application, Mr Beyuo argued that the case raised important constitutional interpretation issues with broad public implications, adding that the applicants possessed expertise and institutional knowledge relevant to the determination of the dispute.
He noted that several of the organisations played key roles in advocacy efforts leading to the establishment of the OSP and had consistently engaged government on anti-corruption reforms and accountability measures concerning politically exposed persons.
Counsel further submitted that Article 2 actions were unique constitutional proceedings that allowed citizens to invoke the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court in the public interest.
“This action is different,” he told the court, adding that the applicants could assist the bench in resolving the constitutional questions before it.
In granting the application, Justice Baffoe-Bonnie held that the applicants had established sufficient basis to participate in the proceedings and could aid the court in arriving at a durable determination of the issues.
“The applicants have made a case for the court to admit them to assist the court to arrive at a decision that would be lasting,” the Acting Chief Justice said.
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