Monrovia – Liberia’s Judiciary is on the edge of a constitutional showdown as President Joseph Boakai is reportedly preparing to commission newly appointed Chief Justice Yamie Gbeisay—despite the fact that outgoing Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene Yuoh remains legally seated until mid-August.
Justice Yuoh, who reached the constitutionally mandated retirement age of 70 this year, continues to serve in her role as Chief Justice until she concludes all matters heard during the March Term of Court, in keeping with the Constitution of Liberia and judicial tradition and precedent.
Article 72 (b) of the Liberian Constitution provides “The Chief Justice and the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court and judges of subordinate courts of record shall be retired at the age if seventy; provided, however, that a justice or judge who has attained that age may continue in office for as long as may be necessary to enable him to render judgment or perform any other judicial duty in regard to proceedings entertained by him before he attained that age.”
Legal experts warn that any attempt by President Boakai to induct Justice Gbeisay before the conclusion of Yuoh’s judicial duties could result in an unprecedented standoff at the top of Liberia’s judicial hierarchy.
“Two captains can’t steer the same ship,” remarked one legal scholar who requested anonymity. “If the President commissions Gbeisay while Yuoh is still lawfully presiding over cases, it could plunge the Supreme Court into institutional confusion and chaos.”
Breaking from tradition?
The court has seen a steady transition since the end of the civil war. Chief Justice Johnnie N. Lewis resigned from the Supreme Court of Liberia in September 2012, citing health reasons. His resignation came nearly a year before the expiration of his constitutional tenure .
Lewis, who was appointed by then-President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in 2006, had served as Chief Justice for six years. After his resignation, Justice Francis S. Korkpor, Sr., who was then serving as Senior Associate Justice, was appointed as Acting Chief Justice. He was later nominated and confirmed as Chief Justice in 2013 and served in that role until his retirement in September 2022.
He was succeeded by Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene G. Yuoh, who was then an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
In September 2022, Justice Yuoh was nominated by then-President George M. Weah. She was subsequently confirmed by the Liberian Senate. The transition between Korkpor and Yuoh was smooth, without controversy, and respected constitutional protocols.
Yuoh has served as Chief Justice since 2022, and although officially retired, she remains empowered to rule on all pending matters from the March term. Her continued presence, alongside the looming inauguration of her successor, raises serious questions about constitutional procedure, judicial independence, and executive overreach.
Observers say the situation demands urgent legal clarity to avoid undermining the integrity of the Court and public trust in Liberia’s rule of law.
As the President reportedly eyes the commissioning ceremony, all eyes are now on Capitol Hill and the Temple of Justice—where the possibility of two Chief Justices simultaneously occupying office threatens to ignite a full-blown constitutional crisis.
