The 27 April 2011, marks Sierra Leone’s 50 years of independence; 50 years since the Union Jack was lowered and the green, white and blue colours were hoisted to mark that epoch-making and momentous occasion. In effect, 50 years since Sierra Leone became an independent state in the community of nations; and 50 years of charting our own course and shaping our own history. While we as a people, bonded by a common destiny, celebrate this golden jubilee; it is equally time for us to reminisce on how state institutions have evolved and contributed to the arduous task of nation building since we bade farewell to British colonial hegemony. And this synopsis pauses to ruminate on what the state of the Sierra Leonean judiciary has come to viz-a-viz its independence.
HE Ernest Bai Koroma, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone
It is a food for thought for all Sierra Leoneans who love Sierra Leone and are sincere to celebrate a new Sierra Leone. When Sierra Leone became a sovereign state 50 years ago, it inherited legal and governance systems modeled on the western system. They were well structured and organized to meet the needs of the people they were established to serve. Effective and efficient service delivery was paramount to all including the judiciary. There was real judicial independence as was evidenced in a classical separation of powers arrangement that was bequeathed to us at the dawn of the new political dispensation.
Hon. Justice Umu Hawa Tejan Jalloh, Chief Justice of Sierra Leone
The courts were efficient, responsive and accountable: judges made decisions based upon a dispassionate application of law to the facts rather than bias in favour of one party; they were not subjected to removal from office or threats for reaching decisions unpopular with the government; the judiciary was largely self-governing, was not subject to political cuts to its budget, and was free from administrative interference; it possessed genuine powers to determine questions of law and fact in all cases, including those involving the executive branch; it was recognized by the constitution, other political branches, and civil society as a separate entity with the legitimate purpose of upholding the rule of law; and that the judges were immune to bribes, favours, and other forms of influence which might affect impartiality. In effect, the institution epitomized justice; a place of hope for the hopeless, poor and marginalized in society.
However, as post independence leaders began to understand that the legal system offers an arena in which people can hold political leaders and public officials to account, protect themselves from exploitation by those with more power, and resolve conflict that are individual or collective, they metamorphosed into hawks and preyed on judicial independence. The obsession of power and lucre that have attacked and destroyed much of our national norms and value fabric stealthily found its way, predictably, into judicial sanctity and caused much havoc in so little time. This had particularly malign consequences for judicial independence and the integrity of the judicial system. Yet to wholly lay the blame at the door step of political actors will be a travesty of justice. It is multi-faceted; involving both state as well as non state actors.
Independence of the judiciary, as many people would argue, begins, or at least, is characterized by a kind of internal independence of mind and spirit that exudes out as a physical quality-the attitude to defend the integrity of the judicial space granted by the constitution and the nature of the judicial function. That perhaps has been a major challenge for some officers in the judiciary. But they are human beings with human frailties and failings. Where the society that moulds the way their lives are lived becomes banal, they too, may become vulnerable. However, hardly anyone will dispute that the cost of their failing is too profound for the values that defines and identify the judicial institution as a whole.
For a proper administration of justice, it is necessary to ensure judicial independence, because in criminal cases, only the courts can “do justice”. There are no alternative justice models, as one can possibly envisage in civil litigation. Therefore, the independence of the judiciary becomes crucial; as there is also a close relation between the concept of judicial independence as a general constitutional principle, and the concept of “access to justice.” Access to justice per se depends on whether there is or not a proper institutional and personal independence of judges, not only de jure independence, but also de facto situation.
Judicial independence is not only central to the realization of constitutionally guaranteed rights, but also to the broader goals of development and poverty reduction. An independent and accountable judiciary is critical towards the realization of the rule of law, social, political and economic stability of any nation. To achieve high judicial standards which are pegged on international best practices, substantial attention must be given to institutional and legal infrastructure reforms necessary to support, implement and sustain these ideals, as well as to promote a rule of law culture.
In Sierra Leone, successive governments have down played the deepening crisis of confidence in the judiciary, suffering from chronic procedural bureaucracies, case backlogs, limited infrastructure and inadequate personnel leading to a virtual collapse of the judicial system particularly on the eve of the civil strife. However, judicial reform and judicial institution building has received considerable attention in recent years, and there is much that can be said about judicial training, infrastructure, case management, conditions of service and so on. But in addition to these aspects, judicial independence turns crucially on what are irreducible political factors. Ideally, the judiciary is the guardian of the rule of law, individuals’ legal rights, and democracy. Being apolitical, only the judiciary can safeguard democratic values against political influence.
Therefore, as we celebrate this golden jubilee, our hope is to see fundamental reforms within the judiciary taken place as opposed to reforms merely intended to address some inconveniences in the administration of justice. Hence, we entreat all policy makers and stakeholders involved in judicial reforms in Sierra Leone towards agitating for a more progressive, independent and accountable judiciary.