During her final opening address as head of the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene G. Yuoh declared that the former Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Samuel D. Tweah, acted beyond his legal authority by preparing a unilateral budget for the Judiciary. This statement was made at the commencement of the March 2025 term of court at the Temple of Justice in Monrovia.
“Ultra vires” refers to actions taken beyond one’s legal power or authority. Chief Justice Yuoh emphasized that the other two branches of government had deliberately refused to adhere to the Judicial Financial Autonomy Act of 2006. She highlighted that the Minister of Finance would send a letter to the Chief Justice—similar to communications with other spending agencies in the Executive branch—dictating the budgetary allocations for the Judiciary and their intended purposes.
In essence, she stated that it was the Minister of Finance who set the budget for the Judiciary, a clear violation of the Financial Autonomy Act of 2006, which she termed ultra vires.
Chief Justice Yuoh stressed the importance of protecting judicial independence by referencing Section 21.3 (1) (2) of the New Judiciary Law, as revised in 2006. This law stipulates that “The Supreme Court shall submit to the Bureau of the Budget annual estimates for expenditures, appropriations, supplies, and services, including personnel, as well as funds for retirement pensions and death benefits necessary for the maintenance and operation of the courts. Supplemental and deficiency estimates may also be submitted as needed.”
She further stated that “All such estimates shall be included in the National Budget estimates without revision, although they may be subject to recommendations by the Bureau of the Budget. These are included with the transmittal of the National Budget estimates from the President of Liberia to the Legislature for action.”
According to the Chief Justice, once the National Budget is passed into law, all funds allocated for the Judiciary must be disbursed by the Ministry of Finance in four quarterly installments. The first installment should be disbursed at the start of the first quarter of the year following the budget’s passage, with subsequent installments released quarter by quarter. Each installment must be disbursed to the Judicial Branch within fifteen days of the start of each quarter, and all funds should be deposited in bank accounts operated and administered by the Judicial Branch.
“All individuals, whether legal entities or otherwise, must recognize that the purpose of the aforementioned law is to protect the Judiciary from undue financial or political influence from the other two branches of government while ensuring a strong, efficient, and robust Judiciary,” said the Chief Justice.
The caption of the Judicial Financial Autonomy Act states that its purpose is “to provide financial autonomy” to the Judiciary. “For this reason, I reiterate today, especially for the protection of this Branch of Government’s independence in the future, that this Bench will not permit, and no Bench should permit, the Judiciary to be treated as a mere government agency,” she asserted.
Chief Justice Yuoh emphasized that the Judiciary is a constitutional branch of the Liberian government, and its budget, fiscal allocations, and salary disbursements should not be subject to the whims of the Ministers, Directors, and Supervisors of the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP). She insisted on strict adherence to the Financial Autonomy Act of 2006. Over the years, according to her, the inadequacy of budgetary allocations has challenged the Liberian Judiciary, undermining its independence.
“I reminded all of us as judges that upon our acceptance of appointments and commissioning, we willingly signed up for these challenges by taking a solemn oath to serve as judges. Every one of us, whether a Justice of the Supreme Court or a judge of record, swore by holy writ to administer justice and resolve cases without delay, fear, or favor,” Chief Justice Yuoh cautioned.
She urged judges never to be deterred from their responsibilities, to maintain their standards, and to uphold their core values and judicial obligations. In this regard, the Supreme Court’s Chief Justice advised all judicial actors to always be prepared to perform to the best of their abilities, regardless of circumstances.
Finally, she echoed the words of Chief Justice A. Dash Wilson Sr., from his Opening Address in the March Term of A.D. 1968: “The position of a judge is a sacrificial one, dominated only by the observance of his sacred oath of office and patriotic loyalty to the administration in power.”
By T.Q. Lula Jaurey
