The Inquirer (Monrovia)
C. Winnie Saywah
18 October 2007
Two members of a foreign delegation visiting President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf have lauded the devotion of Liberian lawyers to the judicial system but said that there is a need for more capacity building training.
Judge Nancy Gertner and Prosecutor Aileen Adams, who paid an acquaintance visit to the members of the Liberia National Bar Association yesterday, said there is no magical formula that can be measured to combat and adjudicate sexual assaults and all other crimes than to have professional lawyers.
The two female lawyers told scores of Liberian lawyers at the association's head offices on Ashmun Street that the judicial system in the country has done a wonderful job by drafting a great sexual assault law but indicated that laws are not enough to make the court system work.
According to the head of the team who visited the association, Judge Gertner said judges and lawyers have to continuously build special skills in order to handle the day-to-day cases of sexual assaults that may arouse adding that they may come in different forms.
Judge Gertner said sometimes in order to tackle cases of sexual assault, an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), which is simply mediating, has to be applied.
Prosecutor Adams told the Liberian lawyers that for great laws to work, they need partnership; partnership with the men, media and everybody concerned with the issues of sexual assaults.
She said Liberia has taken a big step in formulating laws in its judicial system stressing that lawyers here have a strong willpower to tackle the crimes that may come before the courts but that the prosecutors and the police need to be trained to be sensitive to crime victims.
She added that even victims need support and help to go through the case; the public as well needs to be educated about the issues that lead to sexual assaults and the media needs to take the messages to the people to have them abreast with the effects.
The female lawyers said Liberia's judicial system could be a model to Africa and the world's justice systems if only they collectively fight to stop such violence against women.
Judge Gertner holds a B.A. from the Barnard College and an M.A. from the Yale Law School in the United States of America. She has to her credit 20 years of career as a well-known criminal defense lawyer and a civil rights activist. She was appointed by President William Clinton to the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
The foreign lawyers' meeting with the Bar Association was done through the courtesy of the Ministry of Justice where Judge Gertner spoke on rape and case management with emphasis on evidence.
Meanwhile the two lawyers form part of Ambassador Swanee Hunt's delegation of women sponsored by the Women in Public Policy Program at Harvard University who are currently in the country.
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