The Supreme Court of Liberia will continue the handing down of advanced opinions and rendering of judgments in cases heard during its March Term of Court on Friday, following which it will close to reopen on the second Monday in October 2019.
The Supreme Court of Liberia meets two times a year, March and October, and each court term runs for six months before closing for a break.
The Supreme Court is the highest judicial body in the West African nation of Liberia, and consists of a Chief Justice, who is also the top most Judicial official, and four Associate Justices, who are all nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate, the upper house of the Liberian Parliament.
The justices convene court at the Temple of Justice on Capitol Hill in Monrovia.
Article III of the Constitution of Liberia stipulates that the judiciary is one of the three branches of government that are equal and coordinate based on the principles of separation of powers and checks and balances.
The court was originally authorized by the 1839 Constitution of the American Colonization Society signed on January 5, 1839, while subsequent constitutions have continued to authorize a Supreme Court, with the 1984 Constitution being the most recent version.
Powers and structure of the court are determined by Article VII of the 1984 Constitution.
The Supreme Court is granted original jurisdiction over constitutional questions, cases in which the country is a party, and for cases where ministers or ambassadors are involved by the Constitution of Liberia.
The Supreme Court, as in other democratic countries, is found to be the weakest among the three arms of democracy.
Trial by ordeal is prohibited by the court, but it is still practiced commonly in modern times to adjudge cases, especially in rural parts of the country.
Opinions to be handed down by the Supreme Court on Friday include the high profile cases involving the recall of Isaac Jackson of the Bureau of Maritime, Journalist Tyron Brown who was allegedly murdered by Jonathan William in early 2017, among others.
All party litigants and Counsellors-at-Law are expected to be in attendance.
LINA
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