Monthly Archive: October 2023
MADAM CHIEF JUSTICE YUOH’S OPENING ADDRESS FOR THE OCTOBER TERM, 2023
Colleagues of the Bench
The Dean, and Gentlemen/Women of the Supreme Court Bar
Fellow Citizens
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen:
We will always give thanks to God, for He is good and His mercy endures forever. A testimony of this is our gathering in these sacred Chambers to once again conduct the Official Opening Ceremony of another term of Court, the October Term, A.D. 2023 of the Honorable Supreme Court, Republic of Liberia.
UNITY PARTY AND LIBERIA PEOPLE PARTY VS. THE NATIONAL ELECTIONS COMMISSION-PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS (10/06/2023)
The conduct of free, fair and credible elections is the bedrock of all democracy. It is the process by which a nation and a people determine who will and who should govern and direct the course of their lives for a given period of time, especially as provided for by the highest law of their land—the Constitution. Through elections, the people manifest their desire for a civilized and democratic order. These objectives were not lost by the framers of our Constitution, adopted in 1984 and with an effective date of January 6, 1986, when they crafted these words: “All power is inherent in the people. All free governments are instituted by their authority and for their benefit and they have the right to alter and reform the same when their safety and happiness so require. In order to ensure democratic government which responds to the wishes of the governed, the people shall have the right at such period, and in such manner as provided for under this Constitution, to cause their public servants to leave office and to fill vacancies by regular elections and appointments [Emphasis ours].
The Liberian Constitution of 1986 effectuates this vision, a democratic constitutional
Thomas Nimene Tweh vs. Siah Jarmie Tandapolie (10/05/2023)
This Application by Special Leave, filed on September 22, 2023, and amended on September 25, 2023, by Thomas Nimene Tweh, before the bench en banc of this Honourable Court, seeks to have this Court grant unto the Applicant special permission to file a petition for re-argument in a case decided by this Court on August 31, 2023, wherein this Court, in its Opinion and Final Judgment, reversed the Ruling of the Board of Commissioners (BOC) of the National Elections Commission (NEC) allowing the Applicant to contest the Representative Seat for District # 11, Montserrado County. Under Article IX of the Amended Rules of the Supreme Court, a party against whom the Supreme Court had ruled and entered a judgment against may, within three days of receipt of the Court’s Opinion and Judgment, file a petition for re-argument of the case.
The Supreme Court Rule also requires that in order for the Supreme Court to give
UNITY PARTY V. NEC-Violation of Section 4.1(2) of Elections Law (1)a2 (2) (10/05/2023)
The Court has held that the function of the Judiciary is to interpret the law as it is written. This Court has been called upon by the Unity Party, appellant, to determine whether the National Elections Commission (NEC), appellee has violated Chapter 4, entitled “Conduct of Elections”, particularly Section 4.1(2) with respect to the number of registered voters in a precinct. Section 4.1 (2) of the New Elections Law as amended in 2016 reads:
“The number of registered voters in every precinct shall be approximately equal, and unless the Commission in any particular case so determines, the number of registered voters in any precinct shall not exceed three thousand (3000).”
The Unity Party complained to the NEC that 93 voting precincts in nine counties constituting
UNITY PARTY V. NEC-Violation of Section 4.1(2) – 3 (2) (10/05/2023)
This Court has been called upon by the Unity Party, Appellants, to determine whether the National Elections Commission, Appellee has violated Chapter 4, entitled “Conduct of Elections”, particularly Section 4.1(2) of the New Elections Law with respect to the number of registered voters in a voting precinct.
Before proceeding into the allegations laid in the Complaint by the complainant, the Court will undertake a brief historical review of section 4.1(2). Pursuant to a mandate that devolved upon it, the Legislature in 1986 enacted the New Elections Law, which provided at Section 4.1(2) that the number of registered voters in any precinct shall not exceed 1000. In 2004, the National Transitional Legislative Assembly amended this section by the Elections Act of 2004, approved December 17, 2004. As amended, the Act provides that:
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