The Deputy Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, has announced that the Attorney-General will assume control of all ongoing prosecutions by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) following a High Court directive.
According to him, the court ordered that all cases being handled by the OSP be taken over by the Attorney-General until the anti-corruption body obtains the required constitutional authorisation to prosecute.
The ruling stems from a case filed by an accused person, Peter Archibald Hyde, who challenged the OSP to demonstrate that it had the Attorney-General’s approval to initiate and conduct prosecutions.
His lawyer argued that both the Constitution and the OSP Act require the Special Prosecutor to act with authorisation from the Attorney-General. Court records indicated that the OSP was unable to provide evidence of such authorisation.
Dr Srem-Sai stated that the Attorney-General will comply fully with the court’s directive and has no intention of disregarding the ruling.
He added that steps will be taken in the coming days to implement the order and ensure a smooth transition of the affected cases.
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