By Gideon Nma Scott, Jr.
By 12 noon on January 22, 2024, and in the presence of local and foreign guest, President-Elect Joseph Boakai will take the oath of office as the 26th President of the Republic of Liberia. Though no venue has been announced, it is expected the inaugural ceremonies will be held on the grounds of the Capitol Building in Monrovia.
Since his election on November 14, 2023, many Liberians, including myself are having high expectations as to how the Boakai led government will tackle the barrage of problems, ranging from financial impropriety, corruption at every levels of government, insecurity, weak legal system, poor sanitation in urban communities and moreover addressing the bread and butter issues in the country.
One of the key areas that I expect the new president to address is the rule of law system and the administration of justice, which is a key component to the governing structure of the state.
For definition, the rule of law is a durable system of laws, institutions, norms, and community commitment that delivers four universal principles: accountability, just law, open government, and accessible and impartial justice.
Under accountability, both the government as well as private actors are accountable under the law, while in Just Law, the law is clear, publicized, and stable and is applied evenly. It ensures human rights as well as property, contract, and procedural rights.
Open Government are the processes by which the law is adopted, administered, adjudicated, and enforced are accessible, fair, and efficient and accessible and impartial Justice is delivered timely by competent, ethical, and independent representatives and neutrals who are accessible, have adequate resources, and reflect the makeup of the communities they serve; whereas, the administration of justice is the process by which the legal system of a government is executed. The presumed goal of such an administration is to provide justice for all those accessing the legal system.
How the Criminal Justice System Works
Permit me to divert a little for us to look at the workings of the justice system in Liberia.
The Liberian justice system consists of three major layers that work together to take criminal cases from initial incident response to final punishment and rehabilitation efforts. Cases begin with law enforcement professionals (LEOs), who investigate criminal activity while accumulating evidence to identify likely perpetrators and begin building a prosecution against them. In some cases, one or more private investigators or detectors may play a role in the evidence-gathering process.
When this process is reasonably complete, the case enters the court system, which has the job of assessing all evidence to argue and ultimately determine the guilt or innocence of the accused perpetrator. Depending on the nature of the case and its associated criminal laws, prosecuting attorneys will attempt to convince judges and/or jurors that the accused is responsible for the legal charges at hand. It is important to note that Article 21 of the 1986 Constitution of Liberia provides that people accused of crimes are “innocent until proven guilty” in a competent court of jurisdiction.
If prosecutors succeed in proving guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt,” the accused will be convicted and thereby enter the bureau of corrections and rehabilitation system that is tasked with delivering appropriate punishment and, ideally, correcting criminal behavior. From fines to probation to incarceration to rehabilitation, the corrections system has a number of corrective measures at its disposal, but it must adhere to the many constitutional safeguards that protect the rights of those accused and convicted.
From the literature provided above, I will focus my discussion on our rule of law and court systems that need serious attention by the incoming government.
During the opening of the 1st Judicial Circuit Court which includes, Criminal Courts A, B, C and D in Montserrado, it was a time of sober reflection by judicial actors when they looked in the mirror and scorned themselves for many mal-judicial practices over the years.
In what appears to be a true confession, the Assigned Judge of Criminal Court ‘B’ in Montserrado County, Nelson B. Chineh, disclosed that the public confidence in the Judiciary has dwindled, due to all forms of judicial manipulations, interference, and corruption.
According to him, over the years, the integrity of the Judiciary has been ruined by judicial malpractices and noted that rebranding the image of the Judiciary would require the collective efforts of all judicial actors, to include judges, prosecuting, defense, and private lawyers, clerical staff, ministerial officers, the press, and members of the general public, who serve as jurors.
“The manner and form in which each of these justice actors act in discharging their respective task will impact positively or negatively, the public perception of the court system in Liberia,” he noted.
He observed that judges, who are expected to be men and women of integrity as heads of the courts, must learn to take full responsibility of the operation of the court, adding that the judicial canon speaks to who a judge is.
“A Judge must be punctual in attending court; he must at all times exhibit the sense of neutrality. As Judges presiding over the criminal assizes, it is expected of us to possess some basic qualities, to include, but not limited to, being knowledgeable in the law controlling criminal prosecution,” he explained.
He emphasized that, judges must always be cognizant of the fact that court staff and lawyers look up to them for leadership and guidance. A Judge must coordinate activities between the various judicial actors.
For Judge Chineh, “Due Process” is a principle of law that requires an accused to be accorded an opportunity to be heard prior to being condemned or acquitted. Due Process protects the individual’s interest and, at the same time, improves the quality of the administration of justice.
The circuit judge could not hold back his frustration on how some of his colleagues are running the court in the country. I believe that he could not have said it any better when he outlined some lapses of the court and corrupt attitude of some court officials.
It is no secret that the Liberian judicial system, especially the one under the outgoing CDC led government is completely messy and needs to be fixed and rebranded.
To fix means to replace something that is spoiled on an item whereas to rebrand is to give the old item a new look.
Despite thousands, if not millions of foreign taxpayers monies invested in our judicial system to bring it up to international judicial standard during the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the justice system has performed dismally, especially in the administration of justice just under six years of the CDC rule.
Some circuit and magisterial court judges, are using the court and the justice system as an income generation mechanisms for their personal benefits, while others are using the system as a shield to their corrupt investments.
Some would imposed huge fines and often threaten accused persons brought before with jail sentence, if they (accused) do not comply with their judicial exploitation.
This is why I totally agree with judge Chineh when, he described the court as the last place of hope for mankind on earth, and as such, should be kept sacred.
During one of my interactions with the late chief Justice Johnny Lewis, he said, “Judges, at all times, should distinguish themselves as neutral persons by the manner and form in which they conduct judicial businesses.”
Like the judge and some of his colleagues will agree with me as much as I would do with them, most of their colleagues, whether junior or senior judges lack the basic attitude of neutrality, integrity, ethics and professionalism to be judges and it baffles me to see them well attire as they walk through corridors of our courts and sit before our national flag.
One basic tenant the court also lacks is transparency and I notice that some court actors including judges, prosecution as well as defense lawyers always present themselves as a party to the suit, thereby undermining the tendency of transparency. It is a well-placed call on judicial actors to keep the sanity of the court by remaining fair and transparent at all times and act without fear or favor.
I am of the conviction that if legal actors behave in ways that bring about transparency, ethics and professionalism, it will bring a positive change to the manner and form in which businesses are conducted at the courts.
I believe it will also change the public perception of the judiciary and begin to shift their thinking and feelings of the court in a positive way. This is one way we can help to fix and rebrand the image of the Judiciary.
To add fuel to the fire, some prosecuting attorney still do not understand that they are direct representatives of the State party, the defense attorney or public defender is the legal representative of the accused person(s) before court for which I can safely say that these two parties have not ably represented their clients which has led to the acquittal of many hard core criminals and committing innocent people to jail.
If the incoming government wants to enjoy the confidence of the public, it must begin to address the issues of fixing and rebranding the court, it must weed out all of those incompetent judges and lawyers walking through the ales of judicial system and a well-defined punishment be imposed on those few competent lawyers who negligent their judicial duties without legitimate backing.
To increase public confidence in the system and inadvertently discourage or impede crime from the society, there must have a balanced and a transparent judicial system, where all parties will be fully represented by competent lawyer and judges.
Remember that the oath office of all lawyers requires them to be gentle and honest at all time in the discharge of their duties.
*The thought of the son of a professional Kru woman
