National Bar secretary chides lawmakers 

The Liberian National Bar Association criticizes legislators here for enacting what it terms “conflicting laws” in the country.

By Lincoln G. Peters 

Monrovia, Liberia, March 19, 2024 – The Secretary-General for the Liberian National Bar Association (LNBA) Cllr. Bornor M. Varmah has accused lawmakers on Capitol Hill of legislating and enacting what he describes as conflicting laws across the country. 

Cllr. Varmah questioned the lawmaking abilities of legislators who he believes continue to enact conflicting laws in the first Branch of government.

Speaking here on Monday, March 18, 2024, at the formal opening of the Sixth Judicial Circuit, Civil Law Court for Montserrado County, he said the LNBA seeks and is willing and ready to work with the Legislative branch, which has the lawmaking authority to do a lot more.

According to him, the legislature always enacts laws that conflict with existing laws because the people who consume the laws are not part of the process.

“We observed over the years that the process of lawmaking has become questionable by the fact that there is a conflict of law legislated and enacted by the legislature,” Cllr. Varmah expressed. 

“The Supreme Court has said the authority that the Legislature has to make law cannot be questioned by anyone. And so if that authority cannot be questioned, then the people who consumed the law must be involved in the lawmaking process. And because the people are not involved, that is why we see conflicts of law,” he argued. 

Cllr. Varmah also blamed national government for the severe decline in the rule of law in the country.

He noted that the Executive, Judiciary, and Legislature must collectively contribute to ensuring that the judiciary’s function is productive and efficient.

The LNBA executive expressed concern about the constant issue of corruption in the Judiciary, noting that the only way to address this is to have a consultative meeting with justice actors and the executive branch of government to see how corruption can be eradicated or minimized in the Judiciary.

He praised Judges of the Sixth Judicial Circuit, Civil Law Court for Montserrado County, for being efficient and productive in dispensing the law without fear or favor.

For her part, Judge Golda A. Bonah Elliott of the Sixth Judicial Circuit, Civil Law Court for Montserrado County, delivering her opening address for the March A.D. 2024 Term, said during the December A.D. 2023 Term, there were three hundred and fifty (350) hearings in matters pending before the court.

According to her, most of these hearings centered on the disposition of law issues, motions for an investigative survey, divorce, and related matters, including child custody and Summary Proceedings against Magistrates.

Judge Elliott admonished lawyers to file their legal memorandum for the disposition of law issues and do the filing before the date of the hearing. 

She noted that this will enables the court to make determination on the law issues on the day of the hearing instead of postponing any ruling for a subsequent date.

The judge recounted that at the opening of the December A.D. 2023 Term of the court, she promised to dispense justice expeditiously and fairly to ensure that rights are timely adjudicated, as required by the Constitution. Editing by Jonathan Browne