PHOTO: Cllr. Tiawon Gongloe on the grounds of the high court
By Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gmail.com
TEMPLE OF JUSTICE, Monrovia- Making his final response to the Supreme Court of Liberia opening address on Monday, the Liberian National Bar Association President, Cllr. Tiawon S. Gongloe had criticisms and praises for the highest court in the land.
The LNBA President hailed the Supreme Court for the efficiency in which cases arising from elections were handle, while criticizing other decisions rendered by members of the Supreme Court, which he said usually create doubt and misinterpretation of case or law in the public.
Cllr. Gongloe, whose tenure as LNBA President is due to end in November, added that views or decisions of the Court, in some cases, tend to create doubts and sometimes confusion as to the implications and sometimes implications of the Court’s decision.
He said it is important that the Supreme Court as the final arbiter of all disputes in Liberia be crystal clear in all its decisions, in order to aid the Liberian people in sustaining the peace that they continue to build, after 14 years of fratricidal civil conflict.
In short, the LNBA President said the Court must be clear and unambiguous in its decisions.
Cllr. Gongloe said when a decision is made, it should be clear to everyone in order to avoid misinterpretation of the Supreme Court’s Opinion.
According to the Bar Association President, some of the very brutal expressions regarding decisions of the Court have, on some occasions come from justices of the Supreme Court, for example, in their dissenting opinions.
He also spoke against corruption in the Judiciary.
According to the LNBA President, the view held by the public of the existence of judicial corruption, for instance, has been publicly shared by members of the judiciary, sometimes at the highest level.
Cllr. Gongloe added that the LNBA takes particular note of the issues of judicial influence and the freedom of expression highlighted in the Opening Address. Disagreement, your honors, no matter how it may be expressed must always be viewed as the kernel of democracy.
“Your honors and members of the Supreme Bar, as today is the last occasion for me to address this Court as President of the Liberian National Bar Association, permit me to use this occasion to express the deep joy that I have felt each time that I have stood here to speak on behalf of the Liberian National Bar Association. On this case, I want to thank your honors for the patience that you have had to listen to my views, which occasionally, may not have been as complementary as you would have loved them to be. I entertain no doubt that you will accord my successor an even greater level of cooperation and patience,” Cllr. Gongloe said.
“Some expressions of disagreement may be in words that may be considered unpleasant by others; yet some may be pleasant words, but not considered factually truthful; yet still, some may be a combination of both but fundamentally flawed in analyses and conclusions. The important thing is that in a democracy there must be an unfettered flow of views on the functioning of the three branches of government.”
“While, views expressed by lawyers, party-litigants and observers of the judiciary may be considered not constructive or merely intended to make the judiciary look bad, no reaction of a judicial officer at any level of the judiciary should be for the protection of the image of the judiciary. Image-building is an expression that is meant for those whose positions are motivated by the impression of the public such as elected officials or appointed officials without a tenure,” said the LNBA President.
Public opinion about a judge is not a pre-condition for maintaining a judicial office, he said.
According to the Bar President, what is needed of a judicial officer is to uphold the oath of his/her office at all times and to remain loyal to his/her conscience and country in the performance of his/her duties as a judge.
There is no history that a judge has ever been removed from office in Liberia because of a newspaper report or comment made by any citizen or observer of the court, he said.
For example on one occasion, the late Chief Justice Johnny Lewis said, “The judiciary needs to be cleaned up and public confidence restored in the courts system” Liberia: Too few judges, too many cases snag rule of law – Liberia | ReliefWeb.
The LNBA president said, at the opening of the May Term of Court, the press reported the following on remarks made by the Chief Justice, “Chief Justice Francis Korkpor on Monday, May 9 openly admitted that Liberian Judges are corrupt without mentioning the name of any individual judge.
The Chief Justice’s admittance to corruption in the Judiciary comes after some international reports had cast dark cloud over the independence and transparency of the third branch of government earlier.” Chief Justice Admits to Judges’ Corruption (theworldnews.net).
“These comments by a former Chief Justice and one by the current Chief Justice may not be considered constructive by some, because they were not definite about the judicial officers whose conducts motivated these remarks,” the LNBA President noted.