Attorney-General’s office ready to take over OSP prosecutions after court ruling
By DL News
Published
1 min read
In a public statement shared on his Facebook page, he signalled that the Attorney-General’s office would comply with the directive of the court rather than resist or ignore it.
The Office of the Attorney-General is preparing to step into criminal cases currently being prosecuted by the Office of the Special Prosecutor, following a High Court decision that questioned the OSP’s authority to prosecute independently.
That indication came from Deputy Attorney-General Justice Srem-Sai, who said the transition would begin soon in order to ensure that court processes are not interrupted.
In a public statement shared on his Facebook page, he signalled that the Attorney-General’s office would comply with the directive of the court rather than resist or ignore it.
The development follows a legal challenge in a case involving the OSP and Peter Archibold Hyde, where the defence argued that the Special Prosecutor cannot lawfully commence prosecutions without express authorisation from the Attorney-General.
The High Court accepted that argument and ordered that all criminal matters being pursued by the OSP be transferred to the Attorney-General.
Justice Srem-Sai said the Attorney-General has no intention of acting contrary to that order and will begin taking the necessary steps to implement it.
The move, if carried through, is expected to shift a significant number of corruption-related prosecutions from the Special Prosecutor back under the control of the Attorney-General’s office.
