…Wants Boakai act swiftly
By: G Bennie Bravo Johnson I
The LNBA has expressed fear over the the failure of the President of Liberia, His Excellency Joseph Nyumah Boakai, Sr., to appoint an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia, since the death of former Associate Justice Joseph N. Nagbe, Sr.
The legal body says the delay of the president to appoint an associate justice to complete the full bench of the Supreme Court has caused the court not to fully adjudicate cases and form an opinion and also has the propensity to cause a constitutional crisis if
Speaking to the media on Monday, June 10, 2024, through Cllr. Sylvester D. Rennie, National President of Liberia National Bar Association (LNBA),
says that the filling of that seat on the Supreme Court Bench will fully constitute the Judiciary Branch of Government.
At the same time, the Bar called on the Executive and Legislative Branches of Government to see the reason for providing additional budgetary allocation to the Judiciary for FY-202 4-thereby strengthening the coordination of the three (3) Branches of Government as provided for under Article 3 of the 1986 Constitution of Liberia.
Bar Association (LNBA), says that it is disappointed and surprised about the budgetary allocation made by the Government of Liberia to the Judiciary Branch of Government.
The LNBA says that the Judiciary Branch of Government has been treated| in the past as an ordinary Agency of Government, when it had to do with budgetary allocation, which has undermined and impeded the activities of the Courts and other functionaries of the Judiciary.
The LNBA further says that out of a total budget appropriation for FY-2024 of USS738.859,837 (Seven Hundred Thirty-Eight Milion Eighty Hundred Fifty- Nine Thousand Eight Hundred Thirty-Seven United States Dollars), the Judiciary is allotted USSI7,000,000 (Seventeen Million United States Dollars), of the FY-2024 Budget, which is very inadequate to address some of the pressing challenges faced by the Judiciary, which include construction of Judicial Complexes in some of our counties amongst others.
Moreover, the Liberia National Bar Association (LNBA) President noted that the Rule of Law is a pivotal pillar under the ARREST Agenda” of this Government, and to subject or allot such a very low amount for a Branch of Government, that has competing compelling priorities, while ordinary agencies under the Executive Branch of Government, are allotted more money in their budgets, is a disservice to the Rule of Law Sector, which undermines access to Justice.
He added that the Judiciary in its drive to provide access to justice, has a Public Defense Program, where Public Defenders are hired under its budget to cater mainly to indigent clients around the Country.
He stated: “These Public Defenders have not had incentives for the past years to strengthen and capacitate themselves in the work they do, and in an attempt to incentivize them, it is just proper that the budget of the Judiciary be increased because the recent budget allocated to the Judiciary in the tone of US$17,000,000 (Seventeen Million United States Dollars) is insufficient and unrealistic.”
The Bar then continued by stating that under Article 72(a) of the 1986 Constitution of Liberia, salaries, allowances, and benefits of Justices and Judges are determined by law, and these salaries, allowances, and benefits cannot be diminished. Under the said Article, the benefits, allowances, and salaries can be increased.
Furthermore, he added that the harmonization scheme that was employed by the previous government, greatly affected the salaries, benefits, and allowances of Justices and Judges, whose action is yet to be corrected. He said most magisterial courts in Liberia are presided over by non-lawyers, and for lawyers to be attracted to serve in these positions, the necessary incentives must be provided by the Judiciary.
He also Insinuated that these incentives are supposed to be provided for within the budget of the Judiciary, and if they are not provided, it becomes difficult for the Judiciary Branch Government to attract the caliber of lawyers to serve in these positions.
Similarly, there are Debt, Probate, Tax, and Sexual Offenses Courts that are established in all counties, but only a few of these courts have judges while the others do not have, due to budgetary allocation. According to him, it has caused the dockets of the Circuit Courts around the Country to be overcrowded because the Circuit Judges have to assume jurisdiction over these various courts.
Meanwhile, the LNBA asserted that for a more functional Judiciary, there must be realistic budgetary
appropriations made to the Judicial Branch of Government, to enable that Branch of government to render the kind of judicial services expected of it.
He wondered why there is a huge gap between the amounts allocated to the three Branches of Government, which are equal under the law, even though separate but coordinated.
Additionally, there is segregation when it comes to appropriating amounts for each entity’s budget, with the judiciary budget being the lowest.
In furtherance, the Bar stated that despite the low budgetary appropriation to the Judiciary, the LNBA has observed and is informed about the lack of incentives for State Prosecutors, which has undermined the work of the Prosecution and dampened the spirit and morale of the prosecutors.
The Bar through its President noted that the lack of fees for the prosecution of cases, the provision of vehicles for State Prosecutors, and adequate salaries and benefits for State Prosecutors, have all affected that aspect of the justice sector.
With this, the Bar called on the Government Of Liberia to give immediate attention to state prosecutors by providing adequate incentives that will boost the morale of the prosecutors to ensure that justice is served our people.
