Rule of Law in Liberia

Current Practices of Justice: The Role of Non-State Justice Systems in Liberia

The spiral of political unrest and violence that eventually degenerated into a fourteen year civil war was fueled by discontent with the historical role that Liberia’s state institutions, including the justice system, played in fostering the social, political, and economic exclusion of the majority of the country’s population. The process of rebuilding these institutions has been slow given a variety of challenges including a shattered economy, severely damaged infrastructure, a broken judicial system, endemic corruption and limited human capacity and material resources.

While long-term reform efforts are needed to strengthen the capacity of formal legal institutions, these efforts have a limited role in the resolution of the most immediate problems in the aftermath of conflict. Localized mechanisms based on customary law are in fact the primary form of justice for the majority of the population. While these mechanisms generally reflect local understandings of justice, they have also been affected by the war and consequent mass dislocation, and are only loosely governed by anachronistic and obscure laws and regulations. Justice sector reform must take into account a realistic assessment of current practices of justice at the local level, and a thorough analysis of the role customary mechanisms play, and could play in resolving disputes.

USIP’s Rule of Law Program is working to develop policy options for expanding the rule of law and consolidating peace in ways that account for the role of informal legal systems and local understandings of justice. The project has the following components:

• Mapping dispute resolution in practice
  In order to ensure that justice reform is grounded in empirical evidence, a key component of the project is field research. The research focused on tracking a number of “flashpoint” justice issues (e.g. land conflicts, violent criminal behavior) and how individuals have sought to resolve them in actual practice. In addition to assessing individual cases and outcomes, the research yielded an essential picture of the structure and operations of the customary system and its interaction with formal legal institutions at the local level. In December 2008, Rule of Law Program Officer Debbie Isser and Steven Lubkemann of George Washington University traveled to Liberia to present the preliminary findings and analysis.
• Analysis of the legal framework governing customary law
  A second component of the project involves identifying and analyzing the laws, regulations and case law that purport to govern customary law. The analysis highlights internal contradictions, gaps and anachronisms, differing interpretations and understandings of the framework by a variety of stakeholders, and provides a framework for legal reform. This will be accomplished through the establishment of an expert working group responsible for producing a seminal report that will serve as the baseline for analysis of the legal framework governing the dual justice system in Liberia.
• Legal and policy reform
  Based on our research and analysis, the project’s third component is to facilitate legal and policy reform concerning the provision of justice at the local level.

Law Reform

In many post-conflict states, the criminal law framework is often grossly deficient and in need of reform; criminal laws may be outdated, laconic, may violate international standards. Furthermore, there may not be legislation in place that addresses many of the serious crimes problems that typically plague such states. Liberia is no exception. In addition to problems with the substantive law, there is also confusion about what the applicable law is. President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia, commenting on the multi-layered legal framework in her country, stated that "we had so many interim governments, and they passed so many laws, that some of them are duplicating each other, while others are contradicting each other."¹ Efforts are currently underway in Liberia to establish a Law Reform Commission to examine many different areas of domestic law, including—as a priority—Liberia's criminal law framework. USIP's Rule of Law program is working to assist stakeholders engaged in this law reform process in a variety of ways:

• The rule of law program provided relevant materials, resources and laws as a background resource to drafting a Law Reform Commission Act, including materials developed by Rule of Law Program staff regarding the methodology of law reform. Working in close coordination with the UN Mission in Liberia, the Rule of Law program also provided the task force with equipment and materials it requires to perform its functions and activities in an effective manner. This material will be passed along to the Law Reform Commission once it is formed.
• Drawing on its Model Codes Project, the Rule of Law program provided substantive assistance to the drafters of the revised law against rape.
• Following up on a request from the head of the Ministry of Justice's Immigration and Naturalization Department, the Rule of Law program supplied research materials and relevant comparative legislation to support future legislative drafting initiatives to create a dual Liberian citizenship.

For more information on Rule of Law work in Liberia please contact Debbie Isser at disser@usip.org.

Notes

1. UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Liberia: Interview with President Ellen Johnson- Sirleaf. Press Release, June 29 2006, http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=54313, accessed August 23, 2006.