On Wednesday, November 27, 2024, the Ministry of Justice as well as members of the “majority bloc” and the “Koffa bloc” appeared before the Full Bench of the Supreme Court to honor the mandate issued by the court recently—for the Minister of Justice to provide an opinion, on the side of the law, in the House impasse, and for the “majority bloc” to respond to the complaint filed by the “Koffa bloc” that their actions contravene the Constitution of the Republic.
The Ministry of Justice was represented by the Assistant Minister for Economic Affairs and supported by the Solicitor General, the “majority bloc” by Cllr. Varney Sherman, and the “Koffa bloc” by Cllr. Arthur Johnson.
On behalf of the Ministry of Justice, the Assistant Minister for Economic Affairs, Cllr. Joel Theoway, and the Solicitor General, Cllr. Augustine C. Fayiah, noted that the ministry is not a party to the case and requested that they be removed from the lawsuit. The Justice Ministry officials refused to take any of the sides, but urged that the court decide the matter based on its own determination.
Cllr. Authur Johnson, on behalf of the “Koffa bloc”, prayed that the Supreme Court declare the sittings of the “majority block” un-Constitutional, citing Article 2 and Article 33 of the Constitution to support his argument.
Cllr. Varney Sherman, on behalf of the “majority bloc”, told the court that the lawmakers have not breached any Constitutional provision; as such, prayed that the court takes no action in the matter, because the lawmakers’ actions are not in the purview of the court.
According to Cllr. Sherman, there is nothing strange going on at the House of Representatives and, in fact, the Constitution is in support of the action taken by the “majority bloc” to remove the Speaker. He claimed that the “majority bloc” has the numbers, and their decision is political, supported by the Constitution and the House Standing Rules.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has reserved its ruling in the matter and suspended the case to an undisclosed date.
The Chief Justice, Sie-A-Nyene Gyapay Yuoh, however said that the Supreme Court will listen to both parties and give its opinion in any unfolding Constitutional matter, void of interfering with their political and administrative workings as the first branch of government. She emphasized that their only focus is to make sure that everything is done in the confines of the Constitution of the Republic of Liberia.
