By Lincoln Peters
Monrovia, January 16, 2026: Lofa County Senator and Co-Chair of the Senate Judicial Committee, Joseph Jallah, has raised considerations concerning the fragmented nature of Liberia’s statutory frameworks.
Based on Senator Jallah, this fragmentation has left key constitutional processes, corresponding to impeachment, contempt of the legislature, and citizen petition mechanisms, open to political interpretation slightly than being grounded in clear authorized procedures.
Senator Jallah highlighted that, regardless of the 1986 Structure’s mandate for the legislature to not solely make legal guidelines however to legislate on important democratic topics, many constitutional provisions stay unaddressed or weakly legislated.
For instance, he disclosed that the structure contemplates contempt of the legislature, but they lack a complete trendy standing that defines procedures, safeguards rights, and protects legislative authority with out abuse.
The Senator identified that the Structure anticipates the necessity for procedures relating to contempt of the legislature, however there is no such thing as a trendy authorized framework that defines these procedures or offers safeguards to guard each rights and legislative authority. Equally, whereas the structure offers for the impeachment of public officers, the absence of clear statutes has left this course of vulnerable to political maneuvering and uncertainty.
‘’ The Structure offers for the impeachment of sure public officers, however our statutory framework stays fragmented, leaving impeachment processes weak to political interpretation slightly than authorized. These aren’t summary authorized gaps. They have an effect on governance, public belief, and institutional stability. When legal guidelines are lacking, discretion replaces process. When procedures are unclear, battle follows.’ Senator Jallah warned.
The Liberian lawmaker asserted that if they’re to talk of legacy, it have to be measured solely by the variety of payments handed, however by whether or not they fulfilled the unfinished enterprise of the structure, including {that a} legislature that fails to operationalize constitutional mandates leaves democracy incomplete.
“As we resume this session, I subsequently name for renewed bipartisan dedication to figuring out, prioritizing, and passing constitutional legacy payments, legal guidelines that the framers envisioned however left for us to finish. That is work that transcends occasion, county, and ambition. It really works that historical past will bear in mind. Colleagues allow us to legislate not just for the current second, however for the constitutional way forward for Liberia’’ he concluded.
