The Full Bench of the Supreme Court of Liberia has taken over the case relative to the petition for a writ of prohibition filed by Professor Wilson K. Tarpeh.
The High Court is expected to hear the petition for a writ of prohibition today in the presence of both lawyers for petitioner Tarpeh and the Government of Liberia.
Prof. Tarpeh had filed a petition for a writ of prohibition with Chamber Justice, Yusif D. Kaba against the Acting Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr. Emmanuel K. Urey Yarkpawolo.
Based on the nature of the petition, Chamber Justice Kaba issued a stay order on March 7, 2024 mandating Dr. Yarkpawolo to halt all activities at the EPA pending the outcome of a conference, which was held on March 12, 2024.
Following the conference, Justice Kaba did not grant writ but instead forwarded the matter to the Full Bench to make a determination as to whether a writ of prohibition on the activities of the EPA is necessary.
It is not known whether the writ will be issued against Dr. Yarkpawolo to give way for the case to be heard.
Part III, Section 16, count 1 and 2 of the Act that created the EPA which leads to the appointment of an executive director states that “There shall be an Executive Director who is a person with wide environmental knowledge and recognized comment to sustainable management of the environment,
appointed by the President from a list of three names recommended by the Council, except that the President may appoint an interim Executive Director pending the formation of the Council.”
