By William Selmah wselmah@gmail.com
One of Liberia’s foremost criminal lawyers has taken the country’s Legislature to task for what he sees as glaring attempts to undermine the country’s fledgling democracy; mainly the doctrine of checks and balances and the separation of powers.
The Legislature is reportedly drafting a Bill seeking the establishment of an oversight committee to critique and review opinions and rulings of justices of the Supreme Court and subordinate courts.
In his reaction, the Dean of the Criminal Justice College at the African Methodist Episcopal Zion University, Cllr. Arthur Johnson warned that their pending action could undermine the country’s democracy.
The Capitol Building, seat of the Legislature
”I don’t really know what’s happening at the level of that branch; I don’t know what their thoughts are regarding the philosophy of the rule of law”, Cllr. Johnson rhetorically questioned.
He told reporters at the Temple of Justice in Monrovia this week, that if the Legislature usurps that kind of function, it would constitute an act of transgression against the principle of checks and balances.
“The only institution that is clothed with the authority to promulgate and interpret the law and give an opinion is the Supreme Court,” the Liberian lawyer added.
The legal practitioner noted that otherwise, “the legislature cannot have oversight committee to critique decisions, precedents, and judicial opinions that have been promulgated by the Supreme Court and other subordinate courts within our judicial component of government”.
He further explained that as per the history of jurisprudence, the only oversight the legislature as a branch of government has over the Judiciary relates to checks and balances in the case of impeachment proceedings in the context of due process of law.
Cllr. Johnson has meanwhile called on the lawmakers to abandon their campaign which he described as a wrong precedent and an attempt toundermine the independence of the Judiciary; something he warned, could have far-reaching consequences.
It can be recalled that Chief Justice Francis Korkpor disclosed at the opening of the October 2018 Term of Court last Monday October 8 that “the Legislature is contemplating on drafting a bill that will establish a committee that will be above the jurisdiction of Supreme judge.
He added that “this will not only affect the justice system of Liberia, but it is an assail (attack) of justice and of the doctrine of the separation of power as provided for by the constitution of Liberia.”