In six months, Liberia’s new President George Weah will have to name his choice of jurist to fill a vacant seat on the Supreme Court Bench, as one of the four Associate Justices will end his time with the highest Court in the land.
Associate Justice Philip Banks publically announced on Tuesday his pending exit from the Supreme Court Bench.
Justice Banks told Counsellors and Attorneys-At-Law at the opening of a four-day workshop for Public Defenders in the Port city of Buchanan that he will quit the Supreme Court Bench in early June of this year.
He said his retirement was in line with Article-72 (b) of the Constitution of Liberia.
Article-72 (b) of the Constitution states “the Chief Justice and the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court as well as Judges of the subordinate courts of record shall be retired at the age seventy.”
Justice Banks was appointed in April 2010 to the Supreme Court Bench by former President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf after former Associate Justice Glady Johnson met the retirement age as provided by law.
Prior to his appointment on the Supreme Court Bench, Banks served as Justice Minister and Attorney General in the former Ellen Johnson Sirleaf government. Report by Peter N. Toby