Africa-Press – Liberia. Cllr. Massaquoi, who is also one of the lawyers representing the legal interest of embattled Speaker Koffa, warned the Bar Association against public commentary on issues currently awaiting re-argument before the Supreme Court.
Recent public utterance by the President of the Liberia Bar Association (LNBA) has not only created internal wrangling within the leadership and among members, but has also brought the legal community to gross public disrepute as the reputation of that noble legal body is under scrutiny.
It can be recalled that while addressing a well-attended news conference in Monrovia Tuesday, the LNBA, through its President Cllr. Bornor M. Varmah, accused the Supreme Court of Liberia for overstepping its authority by intervening in the leadership dispute at the House of Representatives. Situated at the Temple of Justice in Monrovia, the Supreme Court of Liberia is the final arbiter of justice in the country.
However, the LNBA’s President claimed that the recent ruling by the Court that legitimizes embattled Speaker, Jonathan Fonati Koffa’s stewardship of the House, while at the same time nullifying Koon’s, was in violation of the Doctrine of Separation of Powers.
He contended that legislative disputes such as the removal or reinstatement of the Speaker fall squarely within the Legislature’s domain.
But these assertions by the Bar’s President have been opposed not by many legal luminaries, but also by his deputy – Vice President Cllr. F. Juah Lawson, who expressed serious opposition to this position, and went on to distance herself from it.
“I’m not going to own that statement because that statement is that of the President of the LNBA as an individual, and not the LNBA,” she said in a message to FrontPageAfrica. “I advised the President about getting to the Executive Committee… but he did not listen.”
Accordingly, the disagreements within the LNBA have come to the public space with members tearing their President (Cllr. Varmah) apart for unilaterally dragging their legal community into the mud on perceived account of personal aggrandizement.
Cllr. Jonathan Massaquoi, a member of the Supreme Court Bar, described the statement as being legally flawed, misguided, deeply troubling, and inconsistent with the ethical responsibilities of the Bar in safeguarding the rule of law.
Cllr. Massaquoi, who is also one of the lawyers representing the legal interest of embattled Speaker Koffa, warned the Bar Association against public commentary on issues currently awaiting re-argument before the Supreme Court, because according to him, it raises significant concerns about contempt and the potential violation of the sub judice rule.
This conduct, the renowned Liberian lawyer believes, undermines the integrity and independence of the judicial process.
“Unfortunately, the LNBA’s Statement seeks purposely to undermine and denigrate the Supreme Court. This principle is implicit in Liberia’s commitment to due process and the independence of the Judiciary under the 1986 Constitution, notably Article 21(h) – which guarantees due process in all proceedings before any tribunal, while Article 65 – vesting judicial power in the Supreme Court and other subordinate courts and emphasizing the independence of the Judiciary,” stated Cllr. Massaquoi, referencing Republic v. Sieh et al., 29 LLR 87 (1981), in which the Supreme Court warned against acts which seek to bring the Court or its proceedings into public disrepute or influence its decisions “extra judicially.”
In addition, Cllr. Massaquoi cited Rule 15 of the Code for the Moral and Ethical Conduct of Lawyers in Liberia (adopted by the Supreme Court), which bars lawyers from making “extrajudicial statements” that could materially prejudice ongoing adjudications.
The renowned Liberian lawyer propounded that matters under re-argument are not subject to parallel adjudication in the press or public square.
“The Supreme Court Rules (Revised) and controlling precedent dictate the proper avenue for challenging a ruling, must be a motion for re-argument, not a public editorial. All legal actors—especially officers of the Court and arms of the Court—must respect the finality and sanctity of judicial forums.”
He urged the Bar to model restraint and respect for the judicial process.
“I therefore call on the LNBA and its leadership to refrain from public commentary on the pending case until the Supreme Court makes a final determination; this is how civilized and well-governed legal institutions behave. A continued violation of the sub judice rule risks contempt proceedings and undermines the moral authority of our esteemed Bar, which is currently at its lowest ebb of leadership.”
Also relying on the instance case: C. Abayomi Cassell, 14LLR391 (May 19, 1961), Cllr. Massaquoi maintained: “The Supreme Court will punish for contempt any deceptive practice which might have the tendency to reflect discreditably upon the judicial branch of the government, or which might tend to belittle it for its decisions, or which might embarrass it in the performance of its duties, or which might show disrespect to it or its justices, or which might defy its authority.”
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