A lawyer for former National Petroleum Authority boss Mustapha Hamid says the Office of the Special Prosecutor must comply with a High Court ruling unless it is overturned or suspended by a competent court.
Akbar Abdul Yussif Rohullah told Good Morning Ghana on Metro TV that even where courts have equal authority, their decisions remain binding on the parties involved until set aside on appeal or stayed.
Speaking in a phone interview on 22 April, he said the Office of the Special Prosecutor could not disregard an existing ruling by seeking a different outcome from another court of the same level.
“If the decision is binding on the office, a court cannot entertain actions that would allow it to act in breach of that ruling,” he said, adding that courts are expected to uphold the law rather than enable contempt.
Mr Rohullah described as flawed the suggestion that a party restricted by one High Court could turn to another court of equal jurisdiction for relief. He said such an approach would undermine the authority of the courts.
To illustrate his point, he said a person barred from performing a public duty by a court order could not bypass that restriction by applying to a different court for permission.
“That would be an absurd proposition,” he added.
He maintained that there are only two lawful options available: the ruling must either be overturned on appeal or a stay of execution must be granted.
He also dismissed claims that filing a notice of appeal automatically restores the previous situation.
“The principle of law is clear. Filing an appeal does not operate as an injunction,” he said.
The comments come amid an ongoing legal debate over the limits of authority between courts of equal jurisdiction and the obligation of public bodies to comply with existing rulings, following a High Court decision that stripped the Office of the Special Prosecutor of its prosecutorial powers.
