By Grace Q. Bryant
The Civil Law Annex “B” Judge Nelson B. Chineh says for the court to work against the negative public perception about the judiciary, the Judiciary itself must provide continuous legal education for all citizens especially those in the justice system.
Delivering the charge yesterday at the opening of the Civil Law A& B, Judge Chinen said the vision of the Chief Justice is to work against the negative public perception of the Judiciary by rebranding the image of the court.
“I recommend that all actors must get involve and participate in continued judicial or legal education and reprimand those actors who will refuse to conform,” he noted.
According to him, the vision of the Chief Justice to rebrand the court could come at no better time than now as the image of the Judiciary is being dragged in the mud due to bad legal practice by some justice actors.
“It is a known fact that the public perception of the Judiciary is one of fraud and corruption and we who have taken on the task to be a part of this system must ensure that diligent efforts are made to achieve the relevant changes aimed at improving our services to public,” Judge Chineh said.
He added that the manner and form in which each of these justice actors act in discharging their respective task impact positively or negatively the public perception of the court system in Liberia.
He maintained that judges must be afforded the opportunity for continued judicial education just as practicing lawyers are privileged to participate in continued legal education since laws are dynamic or involving.
“This will bring a positive change to the manner and forms in which businesses are conducted in court and by this, the public perception of the judiciary will begin to shift positively,” he added.
He explained that without the assistance of competent and committed counsel, a party litigant faces the danger of injustice, even if the preponderance of evidence is in his or her favor.
“This is generally seen as miscarriage of Justice and reflects negatively on the judiciary,”
“If lawyers understand their responsibilities and obligations to the court as well as their clients, it will impart their performance which in turn will positively shift public perception of the Judiciary,” he emphasized.
Judge Chineh revealed that the judicial Institute has been striving through its in-service training programs to impart the work of the clerical staffs in record keep and retrieval but more is needed to be done if the confident of court users is to be regained, thereby working against negative public perception.
“As justice sector actors, let us stop manipulating these officers for little of nothing, to make returns contrary to what the truth is , this conduct has the propensity to undermine public confident in the working of the judiciary, therefore corrupting the system does not help,” he explained.
He concluded that if the image of the Judiciary must be positively restored, legal education must be made mandatory and same must not be conditioned on LNBA convention but instead, the Judicial Institute be empowered or equipped to at all- time provide continuous legal education for all justice sector actors.
