By Comfort M. Johnson
MONROVIA, March 16 (LINA) – Supreme Court Chief Justice Francis S. Korkpor has vowed not to betray the confidence of the Liberian people who bestowed the honor on him, as this is his last opening address as Chief Justice.
“I promised that I will not betray the confidence reposed in me by the Liberian people who bestowed the honor on me. I believed I have kept that promise, and I have endeavored to live the life of a high Court Judge,” he said.
“This is my last opening address as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia,” he stressed.
He indicated that Article 72(b) of the Constitution of Liberia provides that the Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court and Judges of subordinate courts of records shall be retired at the age of seventy.
Chief Justice Korkpor spoke Monday at the formal opening of the March Term of the Honorable Supreme Court of the Liberia.
He disclosed that “on September 5, 2022 this year, I shall have attained the age of seventy; this means that at the next opening ceremony of this court on the second Monday in October this year, we may have a new Chief Justice or the senior Associate Justice in keeping with the practice and procedure.”
He said during that time the new Chief Justice shall be conducting the affairs of the Supreme Court and the Judiciary pending the appointment of a Chief Justice by the President of Liberia.
“Let me therefore seize this opportunity to say a few words reflecting on my sojourn at this seat of high honor, touching on some of the reform programs that my colleagues and I together have undertaken to improve conditions in the judiciary.”
He pointed out that it was after many years of private law practice, serving mainly as lawyer for the Catholic Church and its affiliate institutions, and human rights advocacy with the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission that he was first appointed to the bench in 2004.
The Chief Justice stated that this was during the National Transitional Government of Liberia (NTGL) headed by the late Charles Gyude Bryant.
He added: “The recommendation for me to serve on the Court was made by some members of LNBA (Liberia National Bar Association”.
He recalled that members of the Supreme Court bench at the time were Chief Justice Henry Reed Cooper, and Associate Justice Francis S. Korkpor, John L. Greaves, Ishmael P. Campbell and Felicia V. Coleman, noting that two members of that bench Justice Campbell and Justice Greaves have since departed this world.
He asserted that the tenure of the Supreme Court as set by the Accra Peace Accord (CPA) was two years, thus after two years of service, all five justices of the court resigned to give way to the new democratically- elected government headed by former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to appoint justices of the court under a constitutional government.
“I was the only justice who was retained and reappointed to the Supreme Court by President Sirleaf, because President Sirleaf said to me that her decision to appoint me was for continuity of the programs and activities of the court and also based on certain criteria which she considered essential of a justice,” he narrated.
He further explained that when the late Chief Justice Jonny Lewis resigned in September 2012 due to illness, former President Sirleaf appointed him as Chief Justice, and the people of the country overwhelmingly endorsed the appointment.
“I cannot recall that there was a single person or institution in this country that raised issues with my nominations, twice as an Associate Justice and then Chief Justice,” he said, adding that “I have no connection that prompted or influenced my appointments to this Court.
“My preferment was purely based on whatever good those who appointed me saw in me,” Chief Justice Korkpor noted.
