By S. Siapha Mulbah
As the national debate on the establishment of the War and Economics Crimes Court heats up in the corridors of the body politics of Liberia, three lawyers have cited difficulties and a muddy possibility to have President Joseph Nyuma Boakai living up to one of his many promises on which he was elected.
All through his quest for the presidency, Boakai consistently told his supporters that a War and Economic Crimes Court to address the issue of impunity in the country would be established by his government.
But with nearly a month in his presidency, any and all discussions surrounding the establishment of said body in the public sphere are given less attention by the President, something many Liberians blame on his ties to Nimba County Senator, Prince Johnson.
Three legal practitioners, including Cllrs. Arthur Johnson, Symah Serenius Cephus, and Alphonso Zeon, on separate occasions, told a local radio talk-show yesterday, February 6, 2023, that there are laws in the book that require serious revision if there is any need for consideration into the matter of establishing the court.
Cllr. Johnson explained the historicity backing his clams of the impossibility to have the current administration to establish the court, noting that after the Liberian crisis, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was to address the issues that led to and came out of the war and to proffer recommendations on how to deal with those who bear greater responsibilities of the war.
“But the TRC’s recommendations were not followed,” he said, noting that laws, including the Constitution of Liberia, the Comprehensive Peace Accord, and the TRC Act, among others, provide an atmosphere for amnesty covering those that participated in the war, which made it impossible for the past administration to establish the court.
Johnson believes that the failure of the TRC and other authorities that investigated the atrocities to give all parties due process could serve as a hindrance to establishing such body in the country.
“Who told you that former President Weah did not want to establish the war crimes court? There are acts that protect some of these people that participated in the war, which makes it difficult for the administration to establish the court. I am not against the establishment of the court to have perpetrators prosecuted, but there are several factors that impede its establishment for Boakai,” Cllr. Johnson said.
For Cllr. Cephus, several constitutional clauses, including Articles 2, 57, 34 and 50 of the 1986 constitution, need rectification if the country will want to venture into the establishment of the WECC in Liberia.
Cephus said Article 2 of the constitution gives primary jurisdiction to Liberian courts and law, which the Constitution in article 34 prohibits the Legislature from the establishment of any court in the land that is going to be higher than the supreme court.
Stating article 57, he said “The President shall have the power to conduct the foreign affairs of the Republic, and in that connection, he is empowered to conclude treaties, conventions, and similar international agreements with the concurrence of a majority of each House of the Legislature.”
On the other hand, counsellor Alphonso Zeon disclosed that the it is about time that stakeholders be realistic to leaders of the country on the principles of supremacy of international laws.
According to Zeon, the country is at the last stage of conclusion into the discussion of the War and Economics Crimes Court after several conversations and research that have proven that it is a mechanism of solving some of the problems around the conflict in the country.
Adama Dempster, one of the lead advocates for the establishment of the court, asserted that there is a need for the court to bring to book those that contributed to the destruction of many lives and properties that took place in Liberia during the conflicting period.
According to him, one of the key objectives of the court is to ensure that the culture of impunity is dealt with, and holding the perpetrators accountable for their different roles played 14 years civil war.
He added that currently, there are other international partners working with Liberian institutions, to include the Liberia National Bar Association, to ensure that the government of Boakai succeeds in the establishment of the war and economics crimes court.
