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Circuit Court Judge Chineh Asserts: “Threat To Judicial Independence Is Threat To National Democracy “

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As He Opens The 4th Judicial Circuit Court’s Term

By Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gmail.com

HARPER, Liberia– The relieving and now assigned Judge of the Fourth Judicial circuit court, Nelson B. Chineh has called on all judicial and justice actors in his are to demonstrate neutrality, amid a threat to judicial independence.

He was delivering his formal charge on Monday, May 13, 2024 here in the Maryland County’s capital during the opening of term of court.

Judge Chineh said that neutrality is a key factor in dispensing free, fair, and transparent justice for those who deserve justice he made the disclosure.

In his charge on the theme, “the treat to judicial independence as a threat to national to national democracy,” Judge Chineh told the citizens and residents of in the southeastern Maryland County that judicial independence speak to the ability of the court and judges to perform their duties free of influence or control by other actors, asserting that be it governmental, or societal.

According to him court should not be subject to improper influence from the other branches of government or from private or partisan interest. He noted that judicial influence work positively or negatively against the democracy of every nation.

The 4th Judicial Circuit Judge enhancing judicial security is one of the ways by which judicial independence can help improve decisional independence.

He said since Judges are required to uphold the rule of law and discharge their duties regardless of popular sentiments, Judges must have the ability to render decision free from any pressure, inducement, enticement, threat, or intimidation.

The assigned judge told Marylanders that if judges do not feel free to fairly evaluate the mater before them based on the evidence at trial and the relevant laws free of any extended pressure threat or intimidation than they (judges) will feel constraint in the decision-making power.

Judge Chineh explained that societal failure to take seriously the issue of judicial security threatening everyone safety, he described judicial security as another area of critical importance to the administration of justice, pointing out that the Liberian government by and through the ministry of justice should prioritize providing security for all judicial participants.

“In recent time our nation witness and increasing escalation of threatening, intimidating, and harassing incident towards our judiciary. These incidents posed a threat to judicial independence and the rule of law, again I say a threat to judicial independence and the rule of law is a direct threat to our democracy,” Judge Chineh lamented.

He said judges understand the fact that their jobs carried an inherent risk in every decision reached or made by a judge can anger either of the party who appear before him or her and exposes him to thread of revenge as if he or she were the one that injured the party, asserting that that this threat is extended to judges’ family and staff.

The Liberian Circuit Court Judge used the occasion to call on the government to attach urgency to providing security for all judicial participants if judicial independence must be realized.

Meanwhile, in separate remark during the opening of the court, a former persecutor and defense lawyer now a private lawyer Cllr. Joshua G. K. Odoi said spoke of the need to have a free land space for democracy when there is judicial independence.

“I Love the way you put it you touched all sides of the divide, those who are in the judicial cycle and those who are outside. Your Honor there is a common saying here in Liberia it says if you don’t want the cat to eat the fish than don’t let the fish to smell. Indeed, there are some individuals who are out there against the forward matching of democracy and so they attack democracy even from the stand of the judicial base,” Cllr. Odoi said.

According to him, there are people in the judicial system who are influence by outside forces and sometimes insiders, as the result of their action and inaction injustice is dispensed instead of justice.

“We will appreciate magistrates to understand the substance of averment before acting, as many or some do not understand, they are moved by sentiment and sometime anger that comes from nowhere.

Also your Honor another trending thing in this jurisdiction which is bad for justice if we have some magistrates in the interest of 13.5 will careless to listen to the averment but who are very interested in the pecuniary value that is at stake and sometimes it is from these values that they based their 13.5 even to the point where they get to know the case is not a criminal case that require any bon but with hasting to threaten defendant at the time with incarceration, and because of fear of being incarcerated the defendants are constraint to live to the expectation and exploitation to make finances available,” Cllr. Odoi narrated.

A proxy for the Association of Trial Judges of Liberia said magistrates are very knowledgeable of the law and he did not think that magistrates will blunder to some extent of engaging in exploitation as alleged by Cllr. Odoi.

At the same time, the Harper central prison superintendent says the overstay of pretrial detainees has cussed the facility to be overcrowded.

According to him the prison has the capacity of ninety prisoners, but it is currently hosting hundred persons some of whom are 38 pretrial detainees, and 62 convicts

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