Monrovia, Liberia – Legal arguments in a petition for the writ of prohibition against Cllr. Frank Musa Dean, Jr., the presidential nominee for the Office of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia, have been scheduled by the Supreme Court for Tuesday, January 9, 2023, at 11:00 a.m.
On January 3, 2023, the High Court released a schedule for the case arguments. Tuesday, January 9, 2023, the 17th Day Session of the Court will hear a number of matters, including those related to election issues.
Before the case was assigned, the Unity Party petitioned the court on sixteen counts. The UP petitioned the court to prevent Cllr. Musa Dean from being confirmed as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia through its legal representation.
The Joint Presidential Transitional Team (JPTT), which is composed of members of President George M. Weah’s cabinet and a team selected by President-elect Joseph Nyumah Boakai, is the entity that the Unity Party said was established on November 21, 2023, by Executive Order 123. Ensuring a smooth handover of power from President Weah’s outgoing administration to Joseph Boakai’s incoming administration is the goal of the JPTT.
The petitioner claimed that President Weah issued and publicised a directive on December 18, 2023, prohibiting hiring new employees, taking out loans, and making payments of any kind exceeding ten thousand US dollars (USD 10,000).
About 26 days prior to President-elect Joseph Boakai’s inauguration, on December 26, 2023, President Weah nominated Cllr. Musa Dean to the Supreme Court as Associate Justice. Associate Justice Joseph Nagbe had asked for an early retirement in a letter to the Chief Justice.
The Unity Party maintains that although Article 54(c) of the 1986 Constitution grants the Senate the power to appoint the Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of Liberia, this was not the intended outcome. The current President cannot, upon losing the presidential election at the conclusion of their term, nominate an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court under the terms of the Constitution. In order to facilitate a smooth transfer of power to the president-elect, it also stopped hiring new employees and established a transitional team. Therefore, given the current situation and at this specific moment, it is definitely against best practice for President Weah to have Cllr Dean replace Associate Justice Nagbe.
The petitioner further claimed that neither retirement nor a vacancy on the Supreme Court Bench would result from Justice Joseph Nagbe’s December 21, 2023, letter to Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene G. Yuoh requesting an early retirement.
The Unity Party further claimed that since Justice Nagbe’s letter requesting an early retirement is sent to the Chief Justice rather than the President, the President is not entitled to respond to it.
The Party further states that the request for an early retirement is being made in compliance with the New Judiciary Law’s Article 13 Section 13.4. that the Judiciary, not the Executive Branch, is responsible for reviewing issues emerging from the Judiciary Law.
“The 1986 Liberian Constitution allows judges, associate justices, and the chief justice to all retire. Judges of subordinate courts of record, as well as the Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, are required to retire at the age of seventy, according Article 72(b) of the Liberian Constitution (1986). Nonetheless, a justice or judge who has attained that age may continue to serve in that capacity for as long as is required in order to fulfil any other judicial obligation or make a decision regarding proceedings they oversaw prior to attaining that age. To provide such a letter of retirement and create a seat on the Supreme Court bench that would facilitate Cllr. Musa Dean’s nomination defies common logic.”
The Unity Party further claims that since Justice Nagbe’s letter requesting an early retirement is sent to the Chief Justice rather than the President, the President is not permitted to respond to it.
The Party further states that the request for an early retirement is being made in compliance with the New Judiciary Law’s Article 13 Section 13.4. that the Judiciary, not the Executive Branch, is responsible for reviewing issues emerging from the Judiciary Law.
