Africa-Press – Liberia. The National Secretary of the Liberian National Bar Association (LNBA), Cllr. Bornor Varmah, has observed that the practice of the rule of law in the country is drastically declining and much more needs to be done to address the issues.
The LNBA Chief Scribe said that to resolve the matter, it will take the collective obligation of all stakeholders to find a proper solution to the problem.
“In the wisdom of the Bar, it will take the obligation of all actors — whether the Supreme Court, that is responsible for the 1986 Constitution, which runs down to your authority as Circuit Judges; whether the Bar, the Executive, and the Legislature, we are all responsible and I think we all can do better,” Varmah suggested.
Speaking on Monday, March 18, at the opening of the Civil Law Courts A and B, at the Temple of Justice, Varmah said if the judiciary is not adequately financed, then the situation will continue to exist.
“If the work of the Judiciary is not supported, your work will not be enhanced,” he told judges. “So, the Bar is encouraging the National government to do what is needed to ensure that there is productivity and efficiency on the part of the Judiciary.”
Addressing another issue of corruption in the Judiciary, Varmah said it is becoming a perilous issue. “I think the only way to address the matter is to continue with the conversation between the Bar, the Supreme Court Bench and maybe the Executive, to see what needs to be done.”
Making specific reference to a recent statement by President Joseph Boakai accusing the judiciary of being corrupt, Varmah said that when the statement was released, Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene Yuoh and other judicial actors were a bit uneasy about the statement. “But, we must take that statement in good faith and work to address the issues of corruption in the Judiciary.”
Besides Joseph Boakai raising the issue, Varmah informed his audience that, “if we were to read various assessments reports from different international organizations, they all point to massive corruption in the Judiciary.”
“Corruption is becoming problematic and we, the actors in the justice system, must work together to resolve the issues,” Varmah emphasized.
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