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Liberia: Senate Rejects Chief Justice's Fence Request
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The Inquirer (Monrovia)
14 March 2008
Posted to the web 14 March 2008
Morrison O.G. Sayon
The Liberian Senate has vehemently rejected a request made by the Chief Justice of Liberia, Johnnie Lewis to secure the ground of the Temple of Justice on Capitol Hill.
In a communication to the senate which was read during that body's regular session, Chief Justice Lewis requested from the lawmakers to permit him raise the height of the common fence that is been constructed on the grounds of the Temple of Justice.
The Chief Justice Lewis said he believes that the construction of a high fence around the grounds of the Temple of Justice would be in the best interest of both the legislative and the judicial branches of government.
According to him he has decided to secure the grounds of the Temple of Justice like that of the Executive Grounds and that of the national legislature.
His Honor, Justice Lewis in his communication to the lawmakers noted that the grounds of the Temple of Justice share a common boundary with the grounds of the Capitol which was fenced during the construction of the Capitol Building.
He noted that the Temple of Justice was constructed between 1961 and 1964 but at the time no provision for complete fencing of the grounds was made then and none has since been made since he was commissioned as chief justice.
But the chief justice's letter was rejected by the senate following a voting process during which, the few senators who were in support of the judiciary chief's request were defeated.
Bong County Senator Jewel Howard-Taylor argued that while fencing the Temple of Justice was a good idea, the height of the fence the chief justice asked to be constructed would hide the beauty of the lawmakers' seat and must not exceed that of the other branches of government.
Maryland County Senator John Ballout said as Liberia approaches normality it would be contradictory for Liberians to be building high fences especially in government owned institutions that should be spreading confident to the outside world.
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He said it was not enough to reject Chief Justice Lewis' request but to lower the fence. Senator Ballout said the construction of the Temple of Justice fence must conform to all other existing fences perimeters and that it must be transparent and that no concrete wall be built in Monrovia especially around government institutions.
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