The ECOWAS Court of Justice has issued a landmark judgement in response to a legal action brought by the True Whig Party (TWP), a prominent Liberian political entity, alleging the infringement of its rights to property, fair hearing, and effective remedy by the Republic of Liberia.
During the delivery of the judgement, the court declared its jurisdiction to adjudicate the matter and pronounced the applicant’s application admissible. Nevertheless, it ruled that there was no violation of the right to property by the Republic of Liberia.
The legal representative for the applicant emphasized that the True Whig Party, established in 1869 and registered as a political party in Liberia, had been the ruling party until the military coup led by the Armed Forces of Liberia in 1980. The party asserted that 13 of its members were summarily executed, and its headquarters, the E.J. Roye Building, was confiscated by the Peoples Redemption Council (PRC), the self-styled military government.
The party claimed that despite an amendment allowing the return of the confiscated building, the Republic of Liberia did not honour this provision, and its offer to purchase the building for $600,000 was rejected. It further explained that the Republic of Liberia entered into a questionable Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with former party members who received $130,000 in 2013, despite their expired tenure.
Furthermore, the TWP opposed the Republic of Liberia’s attempt to transfer ownership of the property to the National Oil Company (NOCAL), a state agency. The party contended that the confiscation violated its rights, especially the right to fair hearing and property as stipulated in the Liberian Constitution, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and international treaties.
Consequently, the party petitioned the court to declare the forceful takeover of its headquarters, the E.J. Roye Building in Monrovia, Liberia, as illegal and in violation of its fundamental rights. The party also sought an order from the court directing the Republic of Liberia to compensate the party with $10 million for aggravated and general damages.
In response, the respondent, the State of Liberia, acknowledged the killing of the party’s leaders and the confiscation of properties, including the party’s headquarters building. It indicated that it sought reconciliation by making a gratuitous payment of $225,000 for the party’s relocation and rebuilding. Furthermore, it asserted that the party was bound by the MoU, signifying that the party had leased the property to another establishment. It urged the court to declare the application inadmissible due to a prior ruling of the Supreme Court of Liberia on the same subject matter, stating that the application was an abuse of the court process.
Subsequently, the court held that the applicant failed to substantiate the violation of its right to a fair hearing, as guaranteed under Article 7 of the African Charter. Moreover, on the claim of the violation of the applicant’s right to property (ownership of the E.J. Roye Building), the court noted that the applicant’s claim was unsupported and ruled that the respondent did not infringe upon the applicant’s right to property as guaranteed by Article 14 of the African Charter.
The judgement was delivered by the Judge Rapporteur, Justice Dupe Atoki, alongside panel justices Sengu M. Koroma and Ricardo Claúdio Monteiro Gonçalves.
