The Youh-bench at the Supreme Court has ordered the arrest of Finance and Development Planning Minister Samuel Tweah for impeding the functions of the Judiciary.
According to a communication issued yesterday, the court is inviting the Minister to show cause why he should not be held in contempt for creating constitutional crisis for the Judiciary.
The communication under the signature of the Chief Clerk of the Supreme Court Cllr. Sam Momolu, is instructing the high court’s Marshall, Brig. General Amos Dickson, to ensure that the order of the court is fully executed.
It can be recalled that in November 2021 several aggrieved members of the National Association of Trial Judges of Liberia filed a petition against the Government of Liberia for what they described as the “wrongful and illegal abolition and withholding of their allowances, salaries and benefits.”
Stating, “Article 72(a) of the Constitution which clearly mandates that “…allowances and benefits paid to Justices of the Supreme Court and judges of subordinate courts may by law be increased but may not be diminished except under a national program enacted by the Legislature; nor shall such allowances and benefits be subject to taxation.
The Chief Justice, Sie -A- Nyene Yuoh, in her maiden charge delivered at the opening of the Supreme Court said , “I am cognizant of the Judicial Financial Autonomy Act (2006), and the need to ensure strict compliance with these laws, and the debate surrounding the harmonization of the salaries of justices/judges.
