The Liberian Senate has announced the start of the impeachment trial against Supreme Court Associate Justice Kabineh Ja’neh on Thursday, February 14, 2019, but some legal observers are watching to see whether Chief Justice Francis Korkpor will actually preside over the proceedings.
A press statement signed by the Press Director of the Senate, Mr. Jarlawah Tonpo said the Senate impeachment proceedings will commence the impeachment proceedings against His Honor Justice Kabineh M. Ja’neh, Associate Justice starting at 2:00pm at the Capitol Building.
Last December, the President of the Liberia National Bar Association (LNBA), Cllr. Tiawan Gongloe called on Chief Justice not to preside over the trial which emanates from a flawed process in the House of Representatives that violated the Liberian constitution.
Article 43 of the Liberian constitution says:
“The power to prepare a bill of impeachment is vested solely in the House of Representatives, and the power to try all impeachments is vested solely in the Senate. When the President, Vice President or an Associate Justice is to be tried, the Chief Justice shall preside; when the Chief Justice or a judge of a subordinate court of record is to be tried, the President of the Senate shall preside. No person shall be impeached but by the concurrence of two-thirds of the total membership of the Senate. Judgements in such cases shall not extend beyond removal from office and disqualification to hold public office in the Republic; but the party may be tried at law for the same offense. The Legislature shall prescribe the procedure for impeachment proceedings which shall be in conformity with the requirements of due process of law.”
Recently, the Supreme Court voted 3-2 to deny Justice Ja’neh’s request to prevent the House of Representatives from impeaching him.
Cllr. Gongloe urged the Chief Justice not to be a co-conspirator by presiding over an impeachment trial resulting from that process in which the procedure for the trial was not jointly drawn up by both the House and the Senate.
“It is about time for Korkpor to use his own wisdom over the matter, but if he were to preside on Ja’neh’s impeachment trial in the midst of flagrant violation and disrespect to the Supreme Court, history would harshly judge the Chief Justice for that decision,” Cllr. Gongloe, a human rights activist, said in an interview with judicial reporters.
But it now seems that all is set to begin the impeachment trial of Justice Ja’neh with a Notice of Assignment also out, as the Senate press statement says.
“The Notice of Assignment signed by the Secretary the Senate, Hon. J. Nanborlor F. Singbeh, Sr. instructing the Sergeant At-Arms indicates: “YOU ARE HEREBY COMMANDED TO NOTIFY the parties and or their legal counsels to appear before the Liberian Senate in Impeachment Trial at its Chambers at the Capitol Building, Capitol Hill, Monrovia Liberia, the 14th day of February 2019 at the hour of 2:00 PM for the commencement of the Trial…”
According to the Notice of Assignment, which was received and signed for by the legal Counsels for Associate Justice Kabineh M. Ja’neh and the Managers of the House of Representatives, he is to face the Senate for impeachment proceedings.
Associate Justice Ja’neh was on August 28, 2018 signaled out to face impeachment for alleged “misconduct and gross breach of duty” by members of the House of Representatives in keeping with the constitutional power assigned to that body to prepare bill of impeachment and forward same to the Senate for trial.
The Senate’s statement said accordingly, and in keeping with Article 43 of the Constitution of the Republic of Liberia, the Senate has extended an invitation to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to preside over the trial proceedings.