Report by Kennedy L. Yangian, [email protected]
Monrovia – The 1986 Constitution of Liberia has come under the spotlight again. This time, one of the flaws in it has been laid bare by one of the highest authorities at the Supreme Court of Liberia, Associate Justice Phillip A. Z. Banks.
Cllr. Banks, who is one of the country’s top legal luminaries, described the 1986 Constitution as a document, which was heavily influenced by the Military Junta.
It was during the regime of the military junta that the 1986 legal document was crafted by a 25-member National Constitution Committee (NCC) body, which was given the responsibility of drafting a new Constitution. The committee, which was headed by Professor Dr. Amos C. Sawyer, completed its work of drafting in December 1982 and submitted it to the People’s Redemption Council (PRC) in March 1983.
The ruling PRC, headed by Master Sergeant/Head of State Samuel Kanyon Doe, constituted another 59-member Constitutional Advisory Assembly (CAA) to review the draft that had been submitted by Dr. Sawyer’s NCC. This new body, chaired by Edward Binyah Kesselly, completed its work on October 19, 1983. Few years later, the new constitution, which had been through a national referendum and approved, came into force on January 6, 1986.
Serving as guest speaker at the Law Day Program, organized by the Liberia National Bar Association (LNBA), at the Temple of Justice, Friday, May 4, Associate Justice Banks called for reforms of the country’s Constitution to meet present day realities.
He cited Article 97 of the Constitution as one area that supports his argument of the nation’s present organic law being heavily influenced by the PRC, which ruled the nation at the time the Constitution was being prepared.
Article 97 A, “No executive, legislative, judicial or administrative action taken by the People’s Redemption Council or by any persons, whether military or civilian, in the name of that Council pursuant to any of its decrees shall be questioned in any proceedings whatsoever; and, accordingly, it shall not be lawful for any court or other tribunal to make any order or grant any remedy or relief in respect or any such act.
B, No court or other tribunal shall entertain any action whatsoever instituted against the Government of Liberia, whether before or after the coming into force of this Constitution or against any person or persons who assisted in any manner whatsoever in bringing about the change of Government of Liberia on the 12th day of April, 1980, in respect of any act or commission relating to or consequent upon: (i) The overthrow of the government in power in Liberia before the establishment of the government of the People’s Redemption Council; (ii) The suspension of the Constitution of Liberia of July 26, 1847; (iii) The establishment, functioning and other organs established by the People’s Redemption Council; (iv) The imposition of any penalties, including the death penalty, or the confiscation of any property by or under the authority of the People’s Redemption Council under a decree made by the Council in pursuance of but not limited to the measures undertaken by the Council to punish persons guilty of crimes and malpractices to the detriment of the Liberian nation, the people, the economy, or the public interest; and (v) The establishment of this Constitution.”
The constitutional provision above, legitimatizes absolutely everything that the military did during its rule before returning the nation back to civilian control.
Speaking further, Associate Justice Banks, who was one of the legal minds to revise the country’s 1847 Constitution to the present 1986 piece in Gbarnga, Bong County, claimed that their work was influenced by the military at that time.
“There is problem because the Constitution was influenced by the military. They chose what they wanted in it,” said the Associate Justice, who expressly stressed the need for a reform to the organic law.
Cllr. Banks, who is set to retire in June 2018 when he turns 70, said though he will be retiring from the Judiciary, he will still be active in the practice of law and will continually work toward the proper reform of the Constitution.
Cllr. Banks, who served as Justice Minister, in 2010, blasted the Law Reform Commission (LRC) of not exerting effort enough to reform the country’s laws.
He equated the efforts of the LRC, which is now headed by Cllr. Boakai Kanneh, to zero so far.
Touching on one of his achievements when he served as Justice Minister, Associate Justice Banks disclosed that it his recommendation that led to the establishment of the Rape Court at the Temple of Justice.
Chief Justice Francis Korkpor, who along with Associate Justices Kabineh Ja’neh and Sie Nyene Youh, witnessed the Law Day program frowned on the poor attendance of lawyers for the occasion.
The Chief Justice emphasized the importance for all lawyers’ full participation in the Day’s activities.
He called on the current leadership of the LNBA to see the need to provide free legal services for indigent defendants across the country, who cannot afford legal fees.
Speaking on behalf of President George Manneh Weah, who attended the program, Justice Minister Frank Musa Dean stated that pre-trial detention was a serious task for the Ministry of Justice and that a number of programs have been put into place by the Justice Ministry to address the issue.
“People who are accused of crimes need to have their days in court. In spite of the lack of space, we cannot release those who committed heinous crimes like rape, murder, armed robbery to the communities.”
According to Cllr. Dean, there has been a cry for justice and that the Ministry of Justice will ensure that people accused of crimes have access to justice.
The Justice Minister disclosed that the Ministry has planned that cases will be held in Cape Palmas and that this administration will be willing to provide vehicles to assist lawyers who will be taking up cases in that part of the country on behalf of their clients.
The Law Day program, which is an annual event for the LNBA, was celebrated with the honoring of several lawyers and judges. Among the honorees were Associate Justice Kabineh Ja’neh, Cllr. Charles Walker Brumskine, Judge Eva Mappy Morgan, Oswald Tweh, and USAID Chief of Party for the Legal Professional Development and Anti-Corruption Program (LPAC) Gerald Meyerman.
LNBA president Moses Paegar hailed President Weah for accepting their invitation to attend Friday’s Law Day Program, which he described as historical and the first of its kind for the sitting President to attend LNBA program.