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8/26/2020 Jupica vs Nec – Supreme Court of Liberia 1. 1. Whether or not the setting of the election date under Joint Resolution of the House of Representatives and the House of Senate which Joint Resolution was signed into law by the President is in violation of the Constitution? 2. 2. Whether or not the decision to schedule the elections while the ebola virus is still present in Liberia is in violation of the Constitution? And assuming that the answer to this question is in the affirmative does this present a justiciable issue which can be determined by this Court? 3. 3. Whether or not prohibition will lie, given the factual circumstances of this case? The answer to the first question requires a review of relevant Articles of the Liberian Constitution (1986). Article 86 (a) provides: “The President may, in consultation with the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, proclaim and declare the existence of a state of emergency in the Republic or any part thereof. Acting pursuant thereto, the President may suspend or affect certain rights, freedoms and guarantees contained in this Constitution and exercise such other emergency powers as may be necessary and appropriate to take care of the emergency, subject, however, to the limitations contained in this Chapter.” Article 88 provides: “The President shall, immediately upon the declaration of a state of emergency, but not later than seven days thereafter, lay before the Legislature at its regular session or at a specially convened session, the facts and circumstances leading to such declaration. The Legislature shall within seventy two hours, by joint resolution voted by two thirds of the membership of each house, decide whether the proclamation of a state of emergency is justified or whether the measures taken there under are appropriate. If the two thirds vote is not obtained, the emergency automatically shall be revoked. Where the Legislature shall deem it necessary to revoke the state of emergency or to modify the measures taken there under, the President shall act accordingly and immediately carry out the decisions of the Legislature.” When read in tandem, Article 86(a) and Article 88 of the Constitution authorize the President to declare a state of emergency and restore certain rights suspended pursuant to a state of emergency while the state of emergency is still in force and effect; and the Legislature to modify, if the Legislature so decides, the measures taken by the President under the state of emergency. Recounting the sequence of events leading to the case before us, on August 6,2014, the President, in response to the spread of the ebola virus in the country which posed a threat amounting to clear and present danger to the survival of the State, declared a state of emergency for a period of 90 days. The declaration and accompanying measures to deal with the virus were endorsed by the National Legislature. On October 4, 2014, while the state of emergency was still in force and effect, the President issued a proclamation suspending the holding of the special senatorial elections slated for October 14, 2014. The Legislature, by Joint Resolution, endorsed the action of the President suspending the comnetitsolutionsinc.org/toj/jupica-vs-nec-2/ 20/27

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Jupica vs Nec

Judgment

Question Presented: Whether the postponement of the Liberian elections to a date when the Ebola threat was still ongoing was unconstitutional?

Alleged Acts: In February of 2014, Liberia was devasted by Ebola virus and on August 6, 2014 the President declared a state of emergency. Elections were scheduled for October 14, 2014 and the National Elections Commission (NEC) informed the government of the impossibility of adhering to the order, which restricted the freedom of movement, and holding the elections on that date. The President issued a proclamation suspending the elections on October 4, 2014 and the legislature endorsed that action but included that the election must be held no later than December 20, 2014. The NEC consulted with the political parties, civil society groups, and religious groups to determine the date of elections and agreed upon December 16, 2016. The Legislature passed a resolution authorizing the elections to be held on December 16 ,2014 and the President signed the resolution into law. The resolution was passed and signed into law when the state of emergency in Liberia was still ongoing. The petitioners filed suit seeking the setting of a date to be undone because it was illegal and the Ebola virus was still present in the nation.

Summary: Because the state of emergency was still in effect, the court determined that the law constituted a modification of the state of emergency originally set forth by the President’s state of emergency order. Although the court stated that elections would need to have guidelines that requires strict adherence in order to protect the health of constituents, the court stated that the election could stand because it was a political questions and could not be purely determined by the courts. Further, if the court had the power to determine that the Executive and Legislative branches’ set election date could be overruled by the court, it would also need the power to compel a new election date.

Conclusion: The court ultimately denied the petitioner’s request.

Legal Issue(s)

Electoral Administration Irregularities
EMB Independence
Health Concerns & Election Administration

Region: Africa

Country: Liberia

Language of Decision

English

Court: Supreme Court

Election Type: General

Date of decision: Jan 13, 2016

Geolocation

Latitude: 6.404914557

Longitude: -10.67993335

: Geolocation

Primary Documents

Jupica vs Nec – Supreme Court of Liberia.pdf
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Jupica vs Nec

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