A renowned criminal justice reform group, Prison Fellowship-Liberia, has recommended to Liberia's Chief Justice, Sie-A-Nyene Yuoh for the digitization (e-judiciary) of court documents within the Judiciary Branch of the Liberian government to help preserve court records and the fast-tracking of cases that have overstayed on various courts' dockets, which have allegedly denied pre-trial detainees from having access to timely and impartial trial in a court of competent jurisdiction.
Prison Fellowship is the most extensive network of social actors working in the criminal justice field and it is Liberia's famous rights-based nonprofit fellowship group- serving prisoners, former prisoners, and their families, and a leading advocate for criminal justice reform in Liberia.
"Accurate record keeping is one of the critical challenges confronting courts operating in all parts of Liberia because their record keeping methods have not been modernized, but rather outdated," a 2022 survey finding indicates.
Howbeit, Rev. Francis Kollie, Executive Director of the local rights group, elaborated that the entire world is positively running very fast due to the quality of technology and as such, judicial authorities in Liberia need to prioritize the universal rights of pre-trial detainees to have fair access to speedy trial, the right to be heard and represented in court by a lawyer who will be ready to legally challenge accusation levied against an accused by a prosecutorial team.
He stated that the recommendation for digitization of the Judiciary branch/e-judiciary when implemented by the Chief Justice and other Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of Liberia, it will create easier access regarding court documents- whether it is retrieving case files or finding public records, digitization improves the court's capability to offer individuals with access to the information they need; thus, promoting transparency and public trust in the criminal justice system in Liberia.
Rev. Kollie expressed the belief that digitization, which is the process of converting physical records into digital format by means of scanning or digitalization and the conversion of text-based documents, photographs, sound and video into digital formats- will effectively help Liberia's judicial system to reduce the overcrowding of cases on the court's dockets and prolong detention of pre-trial detainees whose human rights have been continuously infringed upon year after year.
"Court workers such as Sheriff, Bailiff, Clerk of court, Judges and others need to be frequently trained by the Judiciary Branch of Liberia to enable them to become legally effective, impartial and operational for the prioritization of the welfare of pre-trial detainees who are currently overcrowded at the Monrovia Central Prison and other correction centers in Liberia," he suggested.
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Kollie stated that the welfare of pre-trial detainees needs to be prioritized continuously by the three branches of the Liberian government with practical budgetary support to help make prison centers in all parts of Liberia functional and human rights friendly.
"Prison Fellowship Liberia has sponsored over 500 prisoners' children in various public and private high schools in Liberia because access to education is a universal right for all humans. The 55th Legislature needs to empower the Ministry of Justice with attractive budgetary support to hire dozens of Public Defenders who are well-trained to represent the legal interest of pre-trial detainees who are presently in various prisons in all parts of Liberia," the Prison Fellowship Executive Director said.
Also, he commended the Boakai-Koung administration for the establishment of the office of War and Economic Crimes Court in Liberia, which is very timely to allow war victims to have access to justice.
"Huge consignment of medicinal products and equipment are anticipated to arrive in Liberia this year to help seek the welfare of pre-trial detainees in Montserrado County and other parts of Liberia who are noted for taking treatment at referral hospitals in Liberia. Prison Fellowship-Liberia presence in the criminal justice sector of Liberia is making a meaningful impact because our free legal clinic we held greatly helped hundreds of pre-trial detainees to have speedy access to justice," he added.
