The government has approved sweeping constitutional reforms to separate the Office of the Attorney-General from the Ministry of Justice, ending the long-standing arrangement under which the Attorney-General also serves as a Cabinet Minister.
Presenting the government’s White Paper on the Constitutional Review Committee’s recommendations on Thursday, July 30, 2026, Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Dr Dominic Ayine announced that Article 88 of the 1992 Constitution will be amended to remove the requirement for the Attorney-General to be a Minister of State.
“The government proposes that Article 88 be amended to remove the requirement that the Attorney-General be a minister of state,” he said.
Under the proposed reforms, a separate Minister for Justice will oversee the country’s justice and legal sector, while the Attorney-General will focus solely on serving as the Republic’s principal legal adviser and chief prosecutor.
“A separate portfolio of Minister of Justice will be established to oversee the justice and legal sector. The Attorney-General will remain the principal legal adviser of the Republic and the repository of the prosecutorial authority of the state but will cease to be a minister of state and a member of Cabinet,” Dr Ayine explained.
According to the government, the move is intended to strengthen the independence of the Attorney-General’s Office by insulating prosecutorial decisions from political influence.
To reinforce that independence, the reforms propose granting the Attorney-General the same terms and conditions of service as a Justice of the Supreme Court, including similar procedures for removal from office.
“To guarantee the prosecutorial independence of the office, a new clause will be inserted in Article 88 to give the Attorney-General the same terms and conditions of service as a Justice of the Supreme Court,” Dr Ayine stated.
He added that any future Attorney-General appointed under the amended Constitution could only be removed through the process outlined in Article 146 of the Constitution, which governs the removal of Superior Court judges.
“If you want to remove that person, you have to go through the procedure enumerated under Article 146 of the Constitution,” he noted.
Dr Ayine described the proposed changes as a landmark reform of Ghana’s legal and governance framework.
“This is a significant restructuring of the legal architecture of the executive, and I believe history will judge it kindly,” he said.
The government also accepted recommendations to establish an independent anti-corruption body. However, instead of creating it through a constitutional amendment, the proposed Public Ethics Commission will be established under the Conduct of Public Officers Bill, with the mandate to investigate and prosecute corruption and official misconduct independently.
