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8/26/2020 Jupica vs Nec – Supreme Court of Liberia Privacy Policy Site Map Webmail Contact Visiting the Court | Touring the Building | Exhibitions  To search type and hit enter Home About US Opinions Documents Courts Docket Organs of the Judiciary Media Center Links Contact Us Jupica vs Nec BY BLUEPRINT · JANUARY 13, 2016 Caution: These electronic opinions may contain computer-generated errors or other deviations SHARE from the official printed opinion pamphlets. In case of discrepancies between the print and electronic versions of an opinion, the print version controls. 0  Download PDF Version Here 0  HEARD: December 8, 2014 DECIDED: December 13, 2014 MR. CHIEF JUSTICE KORKPOR DELIVERED THE OPINION OF THE COURT 0  In order to fully understand the circumstances surrounding and culminating into the prohibition proceedings before us, it is essential that we briefly delve into the factual background. comnetitsolutionsinc.org/toj/jupica-vs-nec-2/ 1/27

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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
english
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