MONROVIA, LIBERIA-President Joseph Boakai has issued Executive Order Number 164, renewing the mandate of the Office of the War and Economic Crimes Court for Liberia for an additional year.
The Office was originally established in May 2024 to investigate, design, and prescribe mechanisms for creating a Special War Crimes Court and a National Anti-Corruption Court.
According to the Executive Order, the Office has since conducted research and consultations with local and international partners, resulting in two draft bills now before the National Legislature.
President Boakai described the completion of these drafts as a demonstration of Liberia’s commitment to transitional justice, accountability, and the fight against impunity and corruption.
During the renewed mandate, the Office will focus on coordinating with international partners to secure resources, providing technical support to the National Legislature as it considers the draft bills, and developing implementation frameworks for the proposed courts.
The Office will also submit quarterly operational and financial reports to the President through the Minister of Justice, free from political influence and subject to independent verification and audit.
The Office, which remains semi-independent, will continue to be funded as a grant line item within the Ministry of Justice’s budget, with an annual appropriation of two million US Dollars, disbursed in equal quarterly installments of five hundred thousand dollars.
Meanwhile, the Executive Order outlines specific timelines for the Office’s work.
The timelines include submitting a resource mobilization plan within sixty days, a legislative support framework within ninety days, and comprehensive implementation plans for both courts within one hundred twenty days.
The Executive Order says the Office must also begin preparing for its dissolution no later than March 1, 2027, with a final report and transition plan due by April 15, 2027.
The Order explicitly states that nothing in its provisions shall interfere with or diminish the rights of any Liberian citizen.
The mandate renewal takes effect on May 1, 2026, and expires on April 30, 2027, unless further extended or revoked by the President.