‘Liberian Judges, Lawyers Operating A Cartel’

It has been almost a year now since British national Hans Armstrong has been struggling to obtain a lawyer to represent his legal interest in a compliant of unethical conduct filed before the Judiciary Inquiry Commission (JIC), the arm of the Supreme Court responsible to investigate the misconduct of  judges.

The handling of this critical case against Judge Roland Dahn of the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court in Nimba County, has left Armstrong with the belief that the working relationship between the judges and lawyers are not far from operating a ‘cartel’. 

Judge Dahn has been before the JIC since 2020 after Chief Justice Francis Korkpor received Armstrong's compliant, accusing the judge of holding numerous phone conversations with one of the parties -- Senate Secretary Nanborlor Singbeh, while the criminal case was pending before him (Judge Dahn). 

Judge Dahn had admitted to the communication between him and Singbeh in his response to Armstrong's accusation that is before the JIC.

Armstrong is the Attorney-In-Fact of two Czech Republic nationals, Martin and Pavel Miloschewsky, who have seventy percent share in a Czech Republic and Liberia owned company, the MHM Eko Liberia Limited, who has sought a criminal conviction of Singbeh and his partner, the imprisoned Czech honorary consul Karel Sochor.

Since the investigation started, it has been postponed on two occasions due to the refusal of several lawyers of the Liberia National Bar Association (LNBA), who had confided in the Daily Observer that they were protecting each other’s interests, which  they could not betray.

Speaking to journalists at the Temple of Justice where he had gone to inquire about the status of his yearlong complaint, Armstrong said the performance of the judges and the lawyers are equated to a cartel.

“This cartel is a threat to Liberia’s judicial independence and the rule of law that the framers of your Constitution expected to see within the Judicial Branch of the Government," Armstrong angrily said.

"Look, can't you see what’s happening to my cases? Like the US$5 million economic sabotage and theft of property case against Senate Secretary Singbeh and the one against Judge Dahn have taken a year without getting justice. It is difficult to achieve justice in Liberia because of the cartel system,” the British investor claimed.

"This is a cartel where you see lawyers compromising with judges and judges compromising with lawyers. They are protecting each other’s interests. Even all the lawyers are refusing to take up my case. This is injustice and I am thinking of taking my complaint against the Judicial Branch of the Government to the Human Rights in The Hague for redress, since there is no justice for an investor in this country," Armstrong complained.