Private legal practitioner Oliver Barker-Vormawor has backed the government's decision to accept the Constitutional Review Committee's recommendation to separate the Office of the Attorney-General from the Ministry of Justice.

His remarks follow Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Dr Dominic Ayine's announcement that the government had accepted the recommendation to separate the Office of the Attorney-General from the Ministry of Justice.

Dr Ayine announced the government's position while presenting the White Paper on the Constitutional Review Committee's recommendations on Thursday, July 30.

The proposal seeks to end the long-standing practice of the Attorney-General serving concurrently as Minister for Justice.

Dr Ayine said Article 88 of the 1992 Constitution would be amended to remove the requirement that the Attorney-General be appointed as a Minister of State.

Article 88 of the 1992 Constitution establishes the role, powers and responsibilities of the Attorney-General. It designates the Attorney-General as both a Minister of State and the principal legal adviser to the government, while also granting prosecutorial authority and responsibility for civil cases involving the State.

Under the proposal, a separate Minister for Justice will oversee the justice and legal sector, while the Attorney-General will continue to serve as the government's principal legal adviser and chief prosecutor.

Reacting to the announcement during an interview with Bernard Avle on Channel One TV's The Point of View on Monday, August 3, Mr Barker-Vormawor said the government's proposal went beyond the committee's recommendations in some respects.

“The other areas I think the government is decidedly a little more progressive than the committee, particularly on the question of the Attorney-General,” he said.

He argued that separating the Attorney-General from Cabinet could help address longstanding concerns about the independence of the office.

“So, the government has now removed the Attorney-General from Cabinet. He's no longer a minister. And that's something the committee didn't get into,” Mr Barker-Vormawor said.

He said the proposal appeared to address concerns about the Attorney-General's ability to prosecute fellow Cabinet ministers.

“I think the government attempted to answer the Office of the Special Prosecutor differently. One of the reasons we have talked about the OSP is the concern that, because the Attorney-General sits in Cabinet, he is not able to prosecute his colleagues. They have brought this in as another mechanism to address the same problem. So I'm surprised by that,” he added.