At The Ongoing International Judges Conference In Liberia
PHOTO: Former LNBA President, Cllr. Tiawan Gongloe
Monrovia, Liberia- A former President of the Liberian National Bar Association (LNBA) and a human rights defender has differed with the Supreme Court Justice Yusif D. Kaba that only the Judiciary Branch of government can make itself independent void of political interference.
“No amount of money can make the Judiciary independent,“ Cllr. Gongloe disagreed with Justice Kaba.
Cllr. Gongloe’s disagreement was expressed during the question and answer section after the presentation of Justice Kaba at the ongoing International Judges Conference, saying that the lack of sufficient funding or low budgetary allotment to enhance the operations of the courts opens to outside interference.
According to Gongloe, who was also former Solicitor General of Liberia during the regime of former President the human rights lawyer, there was time when Judges made US$300 as their monthly pay and they were considered a little more independent than now where judges are making ten times more than that as their take home pay.
“Money does not bring integrity,“ Cllr. Gongloe fired back at Justice Kaba after his presentation.
Justice Kaba presented on the topic: Reflecting on Judicial Independence and Justice for All in a Democratic State within the African Context.
Cllr. Gongloe, who was Solicitor General at the Ministry of Justice for several years, reminded Justice Kaba that “the constitution gives you enough authority to check on the law made by the Legislature, executive action and if you refuse to do so, don’t blame them.
“The constitution is not a self-executing document, it relies on the Judiciary for interpretation,” he added.
The former LNBA President added: “Lack of independence of the Judiciary, rest upon the Judiciary itself in the quality of the decisions the judiciary makes.“
He maintained: “The ability of the judiciary to stand up to those political forces of the other Branches of Government rest on the head of the Judiciary.“
Cllr. Gongloe then said he strongly believed that the presidential immunity was given for the president to perform a lawful duties and he doesn’t think that “immunity allows the president to wakes up one morning and kill five of his security guards, because he doesn’t like the way they dress and the president will be immune from that”.
He recalled in a instant case where a particular President took a petition to one of the justices to assign a cased for re-argument after his colleagues on the Bench refused to do so, adding that it was time for the judiciary to stand up for the independence of the judiciary.
Meanwhile, Cllr. Gongloe has called on judicial actors to stand tall against political interference, even if it causes for one to stand alone.