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MONROVIA Former Chief Justice Gloria Musu Scott has blamed the executive and legislative branches of government for the large number of cases piling up before the judiciary.
Judge Scott said the workload of the judiciary is due to low budget support, signing and ratification of international laws by the executive and legislature without the impact of the judiciary.
The former chief justice made the disclosure Monday at the opening of the 4th National Judicial Conference which is taking place at the Congo Town ministerial complex.
The 4th Judicial Conference is held under the theme: “Law, public policies and the economy”.
Cllr. Scott spoke about investing in facilities, processes and skills to improve court performance ”.
“The various international obligations signed by the executive branch and ratified by the legislature without reference to the judiciary also have an impact on the workload of the judiciary,” she said.
Further commenting on the limited budget support to the judiciary, the former chief justice said: “National policymakers are constitutionally bound to provide equitable funding for a truly fair and impartial judiciary that delivers justice without fear and without always favoring the judicial system. ”
She said: “Judicial staff continue to receive significantly less than staff in comparable positions in the other two branches. This age-old problem of wage disparity for similar functions persists even though the national civil service was established by law and constitutionally protected in 1986; to ensure equal pay for equal pay. The judiciary is the son-in-law of the government of Liberia.
Cllr. Scott further said the underfunding of the judiciary and awareness of the public demand for justice is lost on the legislature.
“Has the Republic (Republic of Liberia) been committed to justice since its inception? I do not think so. My easy research proves that decision-makers constitutionally charged with the appropriation of national income always underfund the judiciary. Let me put it in layman’s terms, the legislature has always ignored the public demand for justice in the Liberian courts. “
“The result was a crippled institution barely functioning and existing as the shadow of the other two branches. We are in 2021, 200 years after the arrival of the settlers, the public has the same demands and the same expectations of the Judicial Power on the one hand while the Judicial Power has the same grievances. Awareness of the public demand for justice is lost on the legislature. “
Cllr. Scott is a Liberian lawyer, politician and jurist who served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia from 1997 to 2003.
The judicial conference is the first of its kind under the leadership of Chief Justice Francis S. Korkpor, Sr. since it was held in 2010 under the leadership of the late former Chief Justice Johnnie Lewis about 10 years ago years.
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