By Our Reporter | Smart News Liberia
MONROVIA – Former Solicitor General of Liberia, Cllr. Tiawan Saye Gongloe, has strongly defended the authority of Liberia’s Circuit Courts to hear petitions challenging the constitutionality of statutes, pushing back against growing claims that such cases must be filed directly before the Supreme Court of Liberia.
In a detailed public education commentary that has drawn considerable attention within legal and political circles, Gongloe argued that the Constitution of Liberia, the Civil Procedure Law, and established Supreme Court precedents all support the filing of constitutional challenges in Circuit Courts before they are reviewed by the nation’s highest court on appeal.
The intervention comes amid an ongoing debate over the proper judicial venue for constitutional disputes, with some legal commentators asserting that any challenge to the constitutionality of a statute should begin at the Supreme Court. Gongloe, however, contends that such arguments are not supported by Liberian law.
According to the veteran lawyer, Article 66 of the Constitution clearly establishes the Supreme Court as the final arbiter of constitutional issues but does not grant the Court exclusive original jurisdiction over every constitutional dispute.
“Article 66 also makes it clear that the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction only in a very limited number of cases,” Gongloe explained. “Those cases involve ambassadors, ministers of foreign countries, and cases in which a county is a party.”
He argued that because constitutional challenges involving statutes are not included among those limited categories, such cases ordinarily begin in lower courts where evidence can be presented and factual records established.
“The Constitution does not say that every constitutional challenge must begin in the Supreme Court,” Gongloe emphasized. “If the framers of the Constitution intended that result, they would have said so expressly.”
Gongloe further pointed to Section 5.64 of Liberia’s Civil Procedure Law as evidence that the Legislature anticipated constitutional questions being raised in courts throughout the country.
The statute requires courts to notify the Attorney General or other government attorneys whenever the constitutionality of a legislative act affecting public interest is questioned in proceedings where the government is not already a party.
According to Gongloe, the existence of that provision undermines arguments that only the Supreme Court can hear constitutional challenges.
“This provision is very important,” he stated. “It is a clear recognition by the Legislature that constitutional challenges may arise in courts throughout Liberia.”
He noted that the law specifically references County, District, and Territorial Attorneys, demonstrating legislative recognition that constitutional questions can emerge in judicial proceedings far beyond the Supreme Court’s chambers in Monrovia.
To reinforce his argument, Gongloe cited the landmark 2011 declaratory judgment proceedings brought by the Liberty Party and the Movement for Progressive Change (MPC) against the National Elections Commission (NEC).
Those proceedings, which involved significant constitutional and electoral issues, were filed in the Civil Law Court for the Sixth Judicial Circuit in Montserrado County rather than directly before the Supreme Court.
Gongloe noted that the late Cllr. Charles Walker Brumskine, widely regarded as one of Liberia’s most accomplished constitutional lawyers, represented the petitioners in the case, while he represented the NEC.
“Experienced lawyers on opposing sides of a major constitutional dispute accepted that the Civil Law Court was the proper court in which to commence the proceedings,” Gongloe observed.
He also highlighted what he considers one of the most important aspects of the case. According to Gongloe, the trial judge initially declined to rule on certain issues, believing they were constitutional questions reserved exclusively for the Supreme Court.
When the matter reached the Supreme Court, however, the Court disagreed and held that the trial judge should have heard the evidence and decided the issues before any appeal was taken.
“The Court emphasized that lower courts have a duty to determine factual issues and pass upon legal questions properly presented before them,” Gongloe said.
He argued that the Supreme Court’s position in the NEC case serves as a direct rejection of the notion that constitutional questions automatically bypass lower courts.
Gongloe further referenced other significant constitutional cases, including Center for Law & Human Rights Education et al. v. Monrovia City Corporation and Citizens Solidarity Council v. Republic of Liberia, which he said demonstrate a longstanding legal tradition of constitutional disputes originating outside the Supreme Court.
The former President of the Liberia National Bar Association also dismissed claims that constitutional challenges should automatically be brought through “In Re” proceedings before the Supreme Court.
According to him, cases such as In re Constitutionality of Legislative Act (1914) and In re Judicial Law Sections 12.5 and 12.6 (1975) were decided under unique circumstances and do not establish a legal requirement that every constitutional challenge begin before the Supreme Court.
“If every challenge to the constitutionality of a statute had to begin in the Supreme Court, there would have been no need for Section 5.64 of the Civil Procedure Law,” Gongloe argued.
His commentary arrives at a time when constitutional interpretation and judicial authority have become increasingly important topics in Liberia’s legal and political landscape, with several high-profile disputes raising questions about the scope of legislative power and judicial review.
Gongloe concluded that Liberia’s legal framework is clear and leaves little room for confusion.
“The Supreme Court is the final arbiter of constitutional questions, but it is not the starting point for every constitutional dispute,” he stated. “Circuit Courts have authority to hear petitions for declaratory judgment, including those challenging the constitutionality of statutes.”
For that reason, Gongloe maintained that filing a petition for declaratory judgment in the Civil Law Court of Montserrado County to challenge the constitutionality of a statute is fully consistent with Article 66 of the Constitution, Section 5.64 of the Civil Procedure Law, established Liberian legal practice, and previous decisions of the Supreme Court itself.
