The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice has ruled dismissing the applications of the Liberian Government appeal filed before the ECOWAS Court in February 2021 involving Liberia former Associate Justice Kabineh Ja’neh, review in its entirety for lacking legal merits.
The ECOWAS Court also denied the Weah Government’s request that His Lordship, Mr. Chief Justice Edward Amoako Asante recuse himself from sitting in any and all matters coming before the ECOWAS Court in which the Republic of Liberia is a party.
The accusation by the Weah government that Justice Asante has been impartial and biased, according to the ECOWAS Court, has been found to be factually and legally groundless.
The ECOWAS Community Court has ordered the Liberian government to fully comply with the judgement without delay.
Speaking to reporters today, Counsellor Kabineh Ja’neh said, “The law is the law and no political maneuvering by the Weah government will change this incontestable fact”.
He also noted that he has been informed by a number of “High Ups” that the Weah government will remain resolute in its defiance of the Regional Court’s Ruling. Asked what action he will pursue in that instance, Counsellor Ja’neh intimated that there are adequate legal remedies to deal with matters of defiance of the ECOWAS Court’s ruling.
According to Counsellor Ja’neh, the rulings include the seeking of imposition of sanctions on a disobeying member country of ECOWAS by an aggrieved party. He however hopes “we will not travel that route”.
It can be recalled that the Republic of Liberia requested the ECOWAS Community Court to review its November 10, 2020 judgement which was rendered in favor of Counsellor Kabineh Muhammad Ja’neh against the Republic of Liberia.
In the November 10, 2020 judgement, the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice ordered the Weah government to restore, calculate and pay Counselor Kabineh Muhammad Ja’neh all withheld entitlements, including salaries, allowances and pensions benefits from the date of his indictment from office to the date of notification of this judgment.
The ECOWAS Court also ordered the Republic of Liberia to reinstate the Applicant as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court or, in the alternative, to grant the Applicant the right to retire from service on the date of this notification with full pension benefits as if he had retired at the normal retirement age of the Supreme Court.
The judgement directed the payment of US$200,000.00 to Counsellor Kabineh Ja’neh for reparation for moral prejudice suffered for violation of his rights.
The ECOWAS Community Court gave the Liberian government period of 6 month to fully comply with the judgement.
The government then filed two applications before the ECOWAS Community Court, In the first application they requested the ECOWAS Court review the judgement, as violating the legislative sovereignty of the Republic of Liberia.
They also argued that the declaration of impeachment was a violation of the Applicant’s right to due process and gross oversight; hence the ECOWAS Community Court by committed a serious palpable error.
