By E. Geedahgar Garsuah, Sr.
MONROVIA: The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia, Francis Korkpor, has defended the Judiciary System against what he termed as ‘mere public perception’ that the system lacks independence.
“You have to look at our judgment before accusing us of being an extension of the executive and legislative branches,” the Chief Justice said in an apparent reaction to claims by critics of the Liberian Judiciary.
Chief Justice Korkpor pointed out that the barrage of public criticisms against the judiciary system is grounded on what he calls “a mere misunderstanding that stemmed from the backdrop of ignorance on the workings of the judiciary system.”
He shielded the Liberian justice system from any wrongdoing and maintained that the public is wrong in their belief about the system.
According to Chief Justice Korkpor, contrary to public perception that the judiciary branch is an extension of the Executive Branch, the nation’s highest court has always rendered judgment on the basis of the Constitution of Liberia.
Chief Justice: “Criticism of the Judiciary is often based on a misperception when in fact we decide cases according to the Constitution and laws without fear or favor and have never lacked independence”.
He made the statement in defense of the judiciary System at a program marking the induction ceremony of officials elect of the Association of Judicial Reporters of Liberia (AJAL), on the grounds of the Temple of Justice on Capitol Hill in Monrovia.
Chief Justice Korkpor indicated that the false accusation that the judiciary is an extension of the executive is not only out of order, but also depicts a negative image of Liberia to the rest of the global community.
He bemoaned the unfortunate situation that most Liberians harbored the notion that the judiciary, in its totality, takes the direction of the Executive or Legislative Branches of Government in making decision on matters concerning government’s Ministries, Agencies and Commissions (MACs).
“Check out some of our recent judgments, particularly in election-related matters that involve the government. You will know that most of them are in favor of the opposition. Do you consider this as an extension of the Executive and Legislative?” Chief Justice Korkpor questioned.
Chief Justice Korkpor maintained that the judiciary system has always placed keen attention on its major responsibility of launching impartial inquiry before reaching final judgments of cases on the basis of fairness in keeping with the Constitution of Liberia.
The assertions of Chief Justice Korkpor who is poised for retirement by September this year comes amid consistent United States’ Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights practices in Liberia.
For instance, the US Department of State reports on human rights practices in Liberia for 2021 and 2022, amongst others, highlighted that Liberia’s Judiciary System lacks impartiality due to entrenched, unbridled, and ingrained corruption including bribery of judges, awarding of judgments by judges based on influence, judges and magistrates exerting undue power propelled by corruption in the process of trial, granting bail including in civil litigations and acquitting defendants in cases involving criminality.
Interestingly however, Chief Justice Korkpor’s latest comments come nearly a month after he had blamed judges and magistrates for reneging on the execution of their judicial responsibilities in a well-timed manner.
Himself (Korkpor) during recent program marking the official opening of the May Term of Criminal Courts adjudged judges and magistrates for being entangled in bribery.
However, amidst all of these circumstances, Justice Korkpor has entreated Liberians to take full ownership of the judiciary if Liberia must continue on the path of nourishing its fragile democracy for peace and stability.
“We do not own the judiciary; it is for everyone of us. It is for the Liberian people. You have to engage us and we will engage you to maintain the confidence in the justice system of our country and to work together for the peace and stability of our country,” Chief Justice Korkpor intoned.
“None of us justices or judges are above the law. If we, judges or lawyers, were to do anything wrong, we have some integrity institutions that investigate unethical breaches carried out by judges and lawyers, and some of them have been punished based on the recommendation from the investigation,” he added.
Chief Justice Korkpor is not alone in his recent criticisms of the Judiciary Branch of Government which he heads.
It can be recalled that during the course of last year (2021), Associate Justice Yusuf D. Kaba made it publicly known that the Judiciary is corrupt with a forewarning that such corrupt acts have the proclivity to ignite a sense of the lack of public trust in the system.
