PHOTO: Justice Min. Cllr. Dean and SG Cllr. Cephas
By Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gmail.com
TEMPLE OF JUSTICE, Monrovia- After the Criminal Courts threatened to slap criminal contempt charges on Justice Minister, Cllr. Frank Musa Dean and his top officials over strike by state Prosecutors, the CDC government has finally begun to address the plight of the state Lawyers.
The President of the state Prosecutor, Cllr. Adolphus Kanuah has disclosed that there is some forward movement by authorities to resolve their grievances.
Strike by state Prosecutors have seriously disrupted the normal functions of courts in the country, something that recently annoyed Judges who threatened to slap Justice Ministry officials with Criminal Contempt.
Cllr. Kanuah said on May 19,2021, the Ministry of Justice is said to have written the Criminal courts that it has resolved the lack of funding and other problems affecting the state Prosecutors who have been absent from courts for the past three weeks.
But the state Prosecutors President told Journalists that he is yet to receive copy of the letter written and signed by Liberia’s Solicitor General, Cllr. Sayma Syrenius Cephas.
The letter from the Justice Ministry seen by this Reporter and dated May 26.2021 says:
May it please your Honor.
Your Honors, we write to officially inform you and this Honorable court that the controversy over the non-payment of Prosecution funds which was responsible for Prosecution not receiving assignments and attending Courts has been resolved.
Your Honors can now issue notice of assignments and have same served on the Prosecution.
It further says thank for patience and we can rest assured you of our fullest corporation in the speedy adjudication of cases.
BACKGROUND TO CRIMINAL CONTEMPT THREAT
Contrary to their request for the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning to be included in the Contempt proceedings, five Criminal Courts at the Temple of Justice are expected to hold Justice Minister Frank Musa Dean and Solicitor General Sayma Syrenius Cephas in CRIMINAL Contempt, if they fail to appear in Court on May 26, 2021 for the hearing of assigned cases in their respective courts.
They are Criminal Courts A, B, C, D and E and the Judges are angry over the failure of state prosecutors to appear in court since the opening of the May Term of Court two weeks ago.
In their ruling on Wednesday, May 19, 2021, the five courts held the Ministry of Justice in contempt of court and ordered them to pay US$300 in the Judiciary account within 72 hours, as of the date of the ruling.
The five courts also disclosed that if the Ministry of Justice headed by it Attorney General Dean and Solicitor General Cephas, who are directly responsible for litigation in their various courts to abide or comply with this ruling, they shall be left with no alternative but to issue a Criminal Contempt against them.
The Courts also said that the conduct of the Ministry of Justice to refuse assignments and or it failure to appear in their courts since the formal opening of the May term A.D.2021, and the February 2021, term of court of Criminal Court E, undermines the rule of law, interrupts the administration of Justice and defies the authority and dignity of their courts.
The courts further said that they are cognizant of the pendency of cases before the first Judicial Circuit Court for Montserrado County and the pre-trial detainees at the Monrovia Central prison who are awaiting trial for this May term A.D. 2021.
According to them, they are aware that victims or the distressed clients of the Respondent/ Ministry of Justice highly expect their cases to be heard without any delay and further added that the Ministry is one of the Judicial actors in our jurisdiction and as such, the said Ministry is legally obliged to attend and handle cases of their clients so as to protect their liberty or life.
The five courts in their ruling on May 19, 2021, said the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Finance are members of the cabinet within the Executive Branch of Government, which is headed by the President of Liberia and the Ministry of Justice knew and has reasonable belief to know that it’s failure to provide prosecution funds to its prosecutors, would result to the failure of prosecutors to appear in court which was and still is the obligation of the Ministry of Justice/ Attorney General of the Republic of Liberia to have informed the President of Liberia, who is the head of the Executive Branch of Government, regarding the failure of the Ministry of Finance to provide the necessary funding for the May term A.D. 2021, to the Prosecution sector within the Ministry of Justice.
Hence, the five courts declined to include the Ministry of Finance in this contempt proceedings.
Ruling of the courts
In determining their ruling, the court raised two cardinal issues.
First whether or not the court should expand or extend the writ of summons for contempt to include the Ministry of Finance and whether or not the failure of the Ministry of Justice to provide prosecution funds to its prosecutors to appear in court undermines the rule of law and therefore contemptuous?
To first issue, the court takes Judicial Notice of the Judicial Financial autonomous Bill which provides therein that the Judiciary can summon the Ministry of Finance for its failure to remit funding on a quarterly basis into a Judiciary’s account at the Central Bank of Liberia.
This court will not hesitate to summon the Ministry of Finance for contempt without any request from the Ministry of Justice for any conduct of the Ministry of Finance in contravention of the autonomous Bill of the Judiciary but in the instant case, the contempt proceedings before them is against the Ministry of Justice for the prosecutors not appearing in their respective courts which has paralyzed the smooth operation of their courts, since the opening of May A.D. 2021 term of court.
However, the submission by the respondent to include the Ministry of Finance in this contempt proceedings, is purely Internal within the Executive Branch of Government to which the Ministry of Justice has administrative legal remedy.
The Courts second issues raised was whether or not the failure of the Respondent /Ministry of Justice to provide prosecution funds to its prosecutors to appear in court undermines the rule of law and therefore contemptuous, the answer is in the affirmative (yes).
The Court also narrated in it ruling that the Ministry of Justice has a budget by law for the Prosecution sector for the sole purpose of providing funds to its prosecutors each term of court to enhance their work in our courts but take Judicial notice of their law that the Ministry of Justice is the prosecuting arm of government as well as the enforcement agency for the judgements of the Judiciary.
The Government of Liberia by and thru the Ministry of Justice is the plaintiff in all Criminal cases in their jurisdiction and the absence of the respondent/ Ministry of Justice from their courts since the opening of the May term A D. 2021, is indeed undermining the rule of law.
However, the Ministry of Justice acknowledged their concern and admitted that the absence of its prosecutors from their courts weakens the rule of law and said admission by the Ministry is admissible against the Respondent/ Ministry of Justice under section 25.5 of the Civil Procedure law of 1973.
The five courts also relied on Judicial Canon Eight, which states that Courts exists to promote Justice thus to serve the public interest. Theirs is the administration of Justice which they must do with speed and care and Rule 21 of the Code for the Moral and Ethical conduct of lawyers of our revised Rule for procedure in the Court 1999.