–Calls for Judicial Retreat to Tackle Corruption
–Justice Kaba Says Justice System is Weak and Prone to External Influence
IPNEWS-Monrovia: The Supreme Court of Liberia has on numerous occasions vehemently contested allegations both local and international actors that the judiciary in Liberia is ‘corrupt’. The country’s Judiciary has come under fire for allegedly being corrupt, both locally and internationally through various international human rights reports.
But on May 6, 2022 in celebration of Law Day at a program held at the Monrovia City Hall under the theme: ‘Advancing the Rule of Law through Decent Work and Access to Justice and Accountability’, the Judge of the 10th Judicial Circuit Court in Lofa County and the President of the National Trial Judges Association of Liberia, Nancy Sammy agreed with the assertion that indeed it is a conspicuous fact that the Liberian Judiciary is corrupt. “It is a fact that the Judiciary is corrupt,” the Judge said.
The National Trial Judges Association of Liberia President blamed local magistrates for being the problem in the country’s Judiciary.
Given the theme of the Law Day, she asked: “Are individuals actually accessing justice’? She responded in loud voice and said no noting, those of them assigned in rural counties, justice is far accessible to the poor?
According to her, one of the reasons is that at the Magisterial Court level, especially in remote areas, justice actors are not available like city solicitors and public defenders.
She gave an example of Lofa County, where she said there are two public defenders who are only stationed in Voinjama City, instead of them going in the rural areas to take assignment. The Circuit Court Judge explained that she is always informed that they don’t have assigned vehicles. And she asked, “How do they go to perform their duties in the absence of that”?
“Given the situation mentioned above, how can individuals who seek justice at the Magisterial Court get the justice they are seeking?”
Judge Sammy revealed that in some instances at the Magisterial Courts, Magistrates serve as City Solicitors and at the same time serve as public defenders which she said is totally wrong. “How can justice be accessed in such system?” she wondered.
The 10th Judicial Circuit Court Judge pondered what greater ethical and moral problems that are going on in hard-to-reach places where there are only Magisterial Courts.
Meanwhile, Circuit Court Judge Nancy Sammy has called on the Supreme Court Associate Justices and members of the Liberian National Bar Association that before the Chief Justice Francis Korkpor retires later this year, they as Judges and Magistrates should be called for a Retreat in order to put things in place. This, she said is to get rid of corruption in the Judiciary, so that mob justice will not be the order of the day.
On his part, the United Nations Commission for Human Rights Representative to Liberia Uchenna Emelonye during the International Law Day celebrations pledged his institution financial, technical and other supports to the Liberian National Bar Association (LNBA).
Mr. Emelonye disclosed that his institution is having interest to support lawyers who want to be involved with human rights issues within the LNBA.
He added Liberia is a country where there is no legal aid system and the court system always intimidates lawyers, which has made lawyers not to be independent. The UN Human Rights Office boss then said the only way to solve such problem is to have legal aid system.
In a related development, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia, Yussif Kaba acknowledge the difficulty party litigants go through to access justice because the people are afraid of the justice system because they see it as alien and inaccessible.
Associate Justice Yussif Kaba – the Justice System is weak and susceptible to eternal influence
Speaking on behalf of the Supreme Court during celebration of Law Day in Monrovia, Justice Kaba lamented that ‘Liberia’s Justice System Is Weak And Susceptible To External Influence,’ noting with difficulty in having access to justice in Liberia, amidst constraints
According to him, it is also difficult to access justice where the system is financially inaccessible; where the people have no knowledge or information of rights; or where the justice system is weak and susceptible to external influence.
The member of the Supreme Court Bench stated that access to justice requires availability of court houses for adjudication the country; and it requires legal awareness; sufficient and qualify justice administrators as well as lawyers, with a more citizen oriented court staff.
Justice Kaba added that it should not be oblivion of the fact that “we are a nation just emerging from a bloody civil upheaval.”
“Barriers such as lack of finance to support the judiciary and other justice actors, infrastructural deficiencies, logistical limitations, increase in criminality especially gender base and arm violence are haunting improvement in our justice system,” the Supreme Court of Liberia Associate Justice narrated.
Justice Kaba also acknowledged their international partners for their immense contributions in addressing some of those issues.
Justice Kaba however, recognized that there remain daunting challenges in the administration of Justice and one of such challenges is financial inaccessibility and due to resource constraint and donor fatigue, budgetary allotment and international assistance to the judiciary is inadequate to address challenging conditions in the Judiciary.
“We have systemic problems that hampered access to justice and the confidence of the people in the justice system. Our jury system, the quarterly term system, the lack of appellate court below the Supreme Court and the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court are all factors that need to be reviewed and corrective actions taking to promote access to justice in this country,” Justice Kaba added.
The Supreme Court justice also revealed that the authority of the Judiciary is not also unaware of reports that mostly criminal defendants are held in long and unnecessary pre-trial detention on account of some magistrates demanding fees for the approval bonds.
“You will recall that Chief Justice speaking on behalf of the Supreme Court on numerous occasions has not only admonished Magistrates to refrain from demanding bond fees but has called on the public to come out and challenge such illegal imposition of financial burden on criminal defendants, mostly indigents. We wish to make it categorically clear that it is illegal to induce, solicit or demand in any form whatsoever, a fee or other pecuniary perquisites to perform official duty such as approving a criminal appearance bond,” Justice Kaba explained.
However, the demand for bond fees instills in the citizens and residents by and large fear of the system which is alien and as such denies access to justice, the Supreme Court Associate Justice stressed.
