Liberia- 1st- Corruption

CHAPTER TWO: SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS

2.3.3 Access to Remedy

[…] Rural and urban indigents are encumbered with crippling court fees including illegal arrest and incarceration. Again, the formal system, including the courts and the Liberian National Police, while having made significant progress since the end of the war in 2003, nevertheless struggles to establish its legitimacy among the people. There is a general perception that the formal justice and rule of law system is challenged by corruption, ineffectiveness and is costly. 

2.3.5 Transparency and Accountability

[…] The need for transparency and accountability in tax payments by businesses, and the state’s harnessing and deploying taxes, are rooted in numerous international and domestic legal instruments. The ICCPR, UDHR, ICSECR, and the ACHPR’s, generally identify objectives obligating member states to strengthen resource mobilization, reduce corruption and strengthen revenue collection. As Liberia strives to implement its national development goals, public corruption, impunity, and weak accountability undermine the envisioned agenda. These challenges emanating from businesses and others seeking to misappropriate the public treasury have given birth to the establishment of integrity bodies charged with ensuring transparency and accountability. The Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI), the General Auditing Commission (GAC), the Internal Auditing Bureau (IAA), and the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) are some such integrity institutions. […] 

The LACC was established by an Act of Legislature on 28 August 2008 with the mandate to investigate and prosecute acts of corruption, as well as educate the public about the ills of corruption and the benefits of eradicating corruption. In 2021, an amendment to the Act, known as the New Anti-Corruption Commission Act (2021) was passed by the legislature. A new board was appointed and started their duties in 2023.

CHAPTER THREE: POLICY ACTIONS

3.5. Transparency and Accountability

a) Under the State Duty to Protect

i. The government shall ensure the effective enforcement of the LACC Act which gives prosecutorial powers to the LACC. […]