Yuoh Faults ARREST Agenda

MONROVIA, September 11, 2026: Former Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene Gyapay Yuoh says Liberia’s national development plan, the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID), was largely formulated by the Executive Branch without adequate consultation or participation from the Judiciary.

Yuoh said the lack of sufficient judicial involvement resulted in the Judiciary’s priorities and reform needs not being adequately reflected in the government’s development framework.

Speaking Thursday, September 10, at the Ministerial Complex in Monrovia during the Central Bank of Liberia’s National Non-Performing Loans Resolution Conference, the former Chief Justice called for greater dialogue between the Executive and Judicial branches over the implementation of the national development plan.

“Liberia’s national development agenda was largely developed by the Executive Branch without adequate consultation with the Judiciary,” Yuoh said.

She noted that although the Judiciary is included under the Rule of Law Pillar of the AAID, its priorities and reform needs were not sufficiently incorporated into the document.

“The Judiciary is included under the Rule of Law Pillar of the AAID, but the Judiciary’s priorities and reform needs were not sufficiently incorporated into the document. I’m compelled to safely say that, from my experience, the document did not do the Judiciary any good,” she said.

Yuoh said that during the formulation of the AAID, she made several attempts to establish coordination between the Judiciary and the Executive, including initiating meetings involving the then Minister of State and the Court Administrator and engaging the Dean of the Cabinet.

She said those efforts did not produce the desired results, arguing that greater collaboration and good-faith engagement between the two branches could have ensured that the Judiciary’s priorities were incorporated into the national development framework.

The former Chief Justice specifically cited the Judiciary’s Five-Year Strategic Plan, which she said outlines key priorities for reforming and strengthening the judicial system.

Yuoh recalled presenting a copy of the strategic plan to the Executive, noting that development grants and other forms of assistance to the Judiciary are channeled through the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning.

She maintained that the Judiciary’s reform priorities could have been incorporated into the AAID if there had been stronger coordination between the two branches during the plan’s formulation.

Yuoh also raised concerns about the need to preserve judicial independence while pursuing reforms within the justice sector.

She recommended direct dialogue between the Executive and Judiciary to address challenges confronting the courts and strengthen the justice system.

According to her, such engagement should focus on reforming and strengthening the Judiciary while respecting the constitutional principle of judicial independence.