Supreme Court Reserves Ruling in Kolubah Appeal Against the House
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Liberia's Supreme Court heard arguments on whether House leadership was properly served with a court order in expelled lawmaker Yekeh Kolubah's case, and has not yet announced a decision.
Developing story: The Supreme Court has not yet said when it will rule.
The Supreme Court of Liberia has reserved its ruling in the case brought by expelled Montserrado County District #10 Representative Yekeh Kolubah against the leadership of the House of Representatives, FrontPage Africa reported on Thursday.
The appeal was listed for the full bench on 22 October. It challenges a ruling on a bill of information, a filing in which a party asks the court to act over alleged non-compliance with an earlier order. The central question is whether House leadership was properly served with a court precept telling it to halt action while Kolubah's case proceeded.
FrontPage Africa reports that Kolubah's lead lawyer, Cllr. Jonathan Massaquoi, argued that Liberia's Civil Procedure Law, not the legislature's internal procedures, determines whether service was valid. He said the court officer delivered the precept to the Speaker's office, where a receptionist reportedly signed for a copy.
The House side maintains the precept was not properly served. According to the earlier FrontPage Africa report, the House began expulsion proceedings in April, and a single justice ruled in May that the House had not been lawfully served, a decision Kolubah appealed.
The newspaper notes it is not settled whether the service provision cited applies to the legislature at all. The Court gave no date for its decision.