A coalition of fourteen civil society organisations has filed an application at the Supreme Court of Ghana seeking permission to participate as amici curiae in a constitutional case challenging aspects of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) Act, 2017.
The case, which names the Attorney-General as defendant, questions the constitutionality of certain provisions within the law that established the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
The applicants are the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Transparency International Ghana, the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC), Democracy Hub LBG, STAR-Ghana Foundation, NORSAAC, Penplusbytes, the Africa Center for Energy Policy (ACEP), Odekro Parliamentary Monitoring Organizati on, A Rocha Ghana, Parliamentary Network Africa (PN Africa), IMANI-Africa, the One Ghana Movement, and Africa Education Watch.
In a joint statement issued on Wednesday, May 6, the groups stressed that their application is not driven by partisan or adversarial interests but rather by a commitment to constitutionalism, accountability, anti-corruption and the protection of independent state institutions.
“The Applicants take this opportunity to emphasize that their intervention is not partisan, adversarial, or personal to any party before the Court.
“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 noted.
According to the coalition, several of the organisations played key roles in the drafting and passage of the OSP Act 959 in 2017 and were actively involved in advocacy efforts that led to the establishment of the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
They noted that particular groups such as the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition, CDD-Ghana and Transparency International Ghana submitted extensive memoranda to Parliament’s Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee during deliberations on the bill.
The coalition emphasised that the matter before the court raises significant constitutional questions and expressed confidence in the judiciary’s role as the guardian of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.
The CSOs expressed confidence that if their application is granted, their participation will assist the “Supreme Court with relevant institutional memory, public interest perspective, comparative anti-corruption standards, and constitutional argument necessary for the just determination of the matter.”
They also commended the Supreme Court for its growing openness to amicus curiae participation in cases of public importance, describing it as a sign of the maturing of constitutional practice in the country.
The lawyers for the CSOs are; Kizito Beyuo, Oliver Barker Vormawor, Samson Lardy Anyenini and Clement Kojo Akapame.
