Chief Justice of Liberia

Chief Justice of Liberia
Coat of arms of Liberia
since 27 September 2022
Supreme Court of Liberia
TypeChief justice
SeatMonrovia
AppointerPresidential nomination with Senate confirmation
Term length70 years of age
Constituting instrumentConstitution of Liberia
26 July 1847
Inaugural holderSamuel Benedict
Formation1847
Politics of Liberia
Constitution
Executive
Legislature
Judiciary
Elections
Political parties
Administrative divisions
Foreign relations
flag Liberia portal

The chief justice of Liberia is the head of the judicial branch of the Government of the Republic of Liberia and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of Liberia.

Appointment and term

Article 54(c) of the Constitution stipulates that the chief justice is appointed by the president of Liberia and confirmed by the Senate. Per Article 68, eligibility for the position of chief justice requires that the candidate:

  • Be a citizen of Liberia;
  • Be of good moral character;
  • Have been a counselor of the Supreme Court Bar for at least five years.

Article 71 states that the chief justice "shall hold their offices during good behavior." According to Article 72(b), the chief justice must retire from office upon reaching the age of 70, though he may remain on the Court long enough to render judgment or perform any judicial duties regarding matters he began addressing before reaching that age.

Duties

In addition to acting as head judge on the Supreme Court and managing all subordinate courts, the Constitution provides several duties to the chief justice. In the case of impeachment of the president or vice president, Article 43 mandates that the chief justice preside over the trial in the Senate. Additionally, Article 53(a) requires the chief justice to swear in the president in front of a joint session of the Legislature.

Removal from office

The chief justice may be removed from office upon impeachment by the House of Representatives and conviction by the Senate. Article 71 of the Constitution stipulates that the chief justice may only be removed in the event of "misconduct, gross breach of duty, inability to perform the functions of their office, or conviction in a court of law for treason, bribery or other infamous crimes." In the event of an impeachment trial of the chief justice in the Senate, the president of the Senate presides over the proceedings.[citation needed]

Only one chief justice, Chea Cheapoo, has been removed in this manner.[citation needed]

List of chief justices

Source: [1]

Status
  Denotes service as chief justice in extra-constitutional transitional government
No. Portrait Name
(Birth–Death) 		Tenure Nominated by President
1 Samuel Benedict
(1792–1854) 		1847–1854 Joseph Jenkins Roberts
2 John Day
(1797–1859) 		1854 – 15 February 1859
3 Boston Jenkins Drayton
(1821–1865) 		1861–1864 Stephen Allen Benson
4 Edward James Roye
(1815–1872) 		1865–1868 Daniel Bashiel Warner
5 C. L. Parsons 1869–1894 James Spriggs Payne
6 Zacharia B. Roberts 1895–1910 Joseph James Cheeseman
7 James A. Toliver 1911–1913 Arthur Barclay
8 J. J. Dossen
(1866–1924) 		1913–1924 Daniel Edward Howard
9 F. E. R. Johnson 1924–1933 Charles D. B. King
10 Louis Arthur Grimes
(1883–1948) 		1933–1948 Edwin Barclay
11 H. Nimine Russell 1949–1956 William Tubman
12 A. Dash Wilson
(1898–?) 		13 March 1958[2] – 1970
13 James A. A. Pierre
(1908–1980)[a] 		1971 – 12 April 1980
— Emmanuel Gbalazeh
(1934–2009) 		April 1980 – 15 January 1986 People's Redemption Council
14 James N. Nagbe[b] 16 January 1986 – 18 June 1987 Samuel Doe
15 Chea Cheapoo
(1942–2020)[c] 		July 1987 – 2 December 1987
16 Emmanuel Gbalazeh
(1934–2009)[d] 		28 January 1988 – September 1990
— James G. Bull 1992–1996 Amos Sawyer
— Frances Johnson-Morris 1996–1997 Ruth Perry
17 Gloria Musu-Scott[e] 1997–2003 Charles Taylor
— Henry Reed Cooper
(1940–2023) 		2003–2006 National Transitional Government
18 Johnnie Lewis
(1946–2015) 		3 March 2006 – 18 September 2012 Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
19 Francis Korkpor
(born 1952) 		18 April 2013 – 27 September 2022[3]
20 Sie-A-Nyene Yuoh 27 September 2022 – present[3] George Weah

Notes

  1. ^ Deposed in the 1980 Liberian coup d'état and executed afterwards.
  2. ^ Unconstitutionally forced to resign by President Doe, along with the entire Supreme Court bench.
  3. ^ Impeached and removed from office.
  4. ^ Vacated his position at the end of the First Liberian Civil War.
  5. ^ Vacated her position at the end of the Second Liberian Civil War.

References

  1. ^ "THE CHIEF JUSTICES OF THE SUPREME COURT REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA FROM 1848 TO PRESENT". judiciary.gov.lr. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  2. ^ "Hon. Dash Wilson Confirmed as New Chief Justice". The Liberian Age 1958-03-14: 1.
  3. ^ a b "Chief Justice Korkpor Retires Today". New Republic Liberia. 27 September 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022.