“NO ROOM FOR NEGOTIATION; MY POSITION REMAINS FULL COMPLIANCE”…FORMER ASSOCIATE JUSTICE JA’NEH ASSERTS…

LIBERIA-SEPTEMBER 22, 2021, WTVNEWS: It has been ten (10) months since the ECOWAS Court of Justice ruled in favor of Liberia’s former Associate Justice Kabineh Muhammad Ja’neh against the Government of Liberia.

Prior to the November 10, 2020 ruling, former Associate Justice Ja’neh had complained to the court that his rights to fair trail was violated during an impeachment proceeding and was subjected to a trail that had no set rules as provided for by the Constitution of Liberia.

Appearing on a local talkshow, former Associate Justice said ECOWAS Court of Justice will serve no purpose if judgement of the court is disregarded.

He said there are provisions for compliance at the Court, therefore ruling of the court should not be taken likely.

“I believe that the Government of Liberia will fully comply with the court ruling, I will continue to use the law to remind the court as a trained lawyer. My position remains compliance as a full parkage, i will not negotiate my position on the court’s ruling, it serves no ulitility value if the judgement of the court is disregarded, so why should people waste their time to go there?”, He said.

According to Ja’neh, there is a revised treaty of ECOWAS that focuses on compliance enforcement and sanction, “And where there is faliture or refusal by a member country to enforce judgement by the authority (ECOWAS) or any of it’s organ, decision shall be taken against said country, ECOWAS itself will like to see its ordered ruling being complianed with by member states”.

The former Associate Justice noted that he will envoke ECOWAS’s provisions that seek to compare the Government of Liberia to comply with the ruling, stating that there will be no room for negotiation.

According to the former Associate Justice, there are provision under ECOWAS treaty that gives the person in whose favor the judgement has been rendered an opportunity to inform the court as to what is happening in terms of compliance. “That’s the stage we are in right now, as far we are concerned the time given by the court for compliance has long finished”.

He vowed to use all mechanisms available to ensure that there is compliance, “We are moving back to the court and using the machaism available to ensure that there is compliance or there will be consequences”.

Former Associate Justice stated on the show that “What we seek to do now, is to envoke those provisions, because no country is an island, we have confidence that the Liberian Government has no option but to comply with these orders, Liberia is subject to the jurisdiction of the court and the entire ECOWAS authority, Liberia is not an island, we believe Liberia will fully comply with the ruling, this is not about Kabina Jen’neh, my position is and shall remind full compliance as a parkage, the government will not negotiate with me to say do this or do that.
When people believe they can do anything in this country and dash money around, mine will be different, full compliance or I will always result to the court”.

He mentioned that Liberia is not only signatory to ECOWAS but a founding member. Ja’neh also said Liberia has served twice at the court where judgements were rendered and countries affected by those judgements fully complied.

In it’s November 10, 2020 ruling, ECOWAS court ruled that the respondent (Government Of Liberia) restore, calculate and pay to the applicant all withheld entitlement including salaries allowrences and pension benefits from the date of indictment from office up to the date of the notification of the judgement.

The court also ordered the respondent (GOL) to reinstate the applicant as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia or the grant the applicant the right to retire from service on the date of notification of the judgement with full pension benefits as if the applicant had retired at the normal retirement age for justices of the Supreme Court.

The ruling further ordered the respondent GOL to pay the applicant the sum of US $200,000 as reparation for moral prejudice suffered for the violation of his rights.

The court gave a timeframe for compliance which ordered the respondent (GOL) to submit to the court in six months as of the date of notification of the judgement and report measures taken to implement the order set forth by the court.

Exactly ten (10) months after the ECOWAS Court of Justice ruling, the government of Liberia is yet to comply.

The Government of Liberia challenged the court’s ruling saying the court had no jurisdiction over the case and that the case was political but the court later reaffirmed its November 10, 2020 judgement and again issued a final judgement on June 4 2021 against the Government.