Supreme Court Admits 14 CSOs to Join Case Challenging OSP’s Constitutionality
A seven-member panel of the Supreme Court has granted 14 civil society organisations permission to join Adamtey v Attorney-General, the case challenging the constitutional basis of the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
The organisations are the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Transparency International Ghana, Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition, IMANI Africa, Democracy Hub, STAR-Ghana Foundation, NORSAAC, Penplusbytes, ACEP, Odekro, A Rocha Ghana, Parliamentary Network Africa, One Ghana Movement, and Africa Education Watch.
The panel, led by Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, approved the application after counsel for the CSOs, Kizito Beyuo, argued that the groups have relevant expertise and institutional knowledge that could assist the court in deciding the matter.
The Counsel told the court that the CSOs are independent bodies with long-standing interests in governance, accountability, and anti-corruption work, making their participation important given the case’s potential impact on Ghana’s anti-corruption framework.
They have been given 14 days to file their processes.
The substantive suit was filed in December 2025 by a private citizen identified as Noah Adamtey, and questions whether the establishment and operational structure of the OSP align with the 1992 Constitution.
He is seeking, among other reliefs, a declaration that the OSP Act, 2017 (Act 959) is unconstitutional to the extent that it confers “original or insulated prosecutorial authority on the Office of the Special Prosecutor, is inconsistent and in contravention of Articles 1(2), 88(3), (4), 93 (2) and 296 of the Constitution and is, therefore, null, void and of no effect”.
Again, he is seeking a declaration that “sections 3(3) and 4 of Act 959, in purporting to make the Office of the Special Prosecutor independent of the Attorney-General in the initiation, conduct and termination of prosecutions, violate the Constitution.”
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