By Our Staff Writer

Monrovia- September 26, 2022: After years of delicate legal service to the country since his appointment to the country’s highest legal office in 2013, Liberia’s Chief Justice Francis Saye Korkpor is expected to finally step down this Tuesday, September 27, 2022

Chief Justice Korkpor, born in the town of Zao, Lao Clan, Nimba County in Liberia on September 5, 1952, career in public service and law spanning over three decades and including service as a private lawyer, prosecutor, and Supreme Court Justice.

The outgoing Chief Justice entered government as a prosecuting attorney in 1982, the same year he graduated from the Law School.

He earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Liberia (UL) in 1976 before going on to earn his Criminal Justice Degree from the North Carolina Justice Academy in the United States of America in 1978.

He returned to Liberia upon completion of his criminal justice program and enrolled at the Louise Arthur Grimes School of Law where he graduated in 1982 with a Bachelor of Laws Degree.

He served at the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) where he aggressively prosecuted repeated offenders, violent criminals, and public officials who committed ethical defilements or indecencies.

His untiring work as a prosecutor in the Department of Litigation earned him a promotion to the posts of Assistant Minister for Economic Affairs in 1985 and Assistant Minister for Legal Affairs in 1988.

Chief Justice Korkpor served in that position until the beginning of the civil war that engulf Liberia in 1989 December

Upon his vast experience in legal practice as a Counselor during the 1980s, Korkpor resigned from the government and established the Tiala Law Firm in Monrovia.

At the onset of the Liberian civil war, he was forced to seek safe haven and particularly, in the United States, where he pursued advanced legal education.

When he returned to Liberia after the cessation of the civil war, and as a busy private lawyer, Korkpor was a testament to his ability to provide sound legal services to the people of Liberia; especially human rights organizations and journalists who were targets of the government at then.

He also represented the legal interests of several other organizations like the Catholic Church of Liberia.

During the period of private practice, Korkpor established himself as one of Liberia’s foremost legal minds and built partnerships, and maintains collegiality within the Liberian National Bar Association (LNBA).

Chief Justice Korkpor has pursued a reform agenda for strengthening the third branch of the Liberian government in several key areas including the office of the Court Administrator, the Creation of the office of Court Inspectors, the Judiciary Inquiry Commission (JIC), and the Grievance and Ethics Committee.

He was heralded by the Record Keeping and Information Technology department of the Judiciary, Regional Justice and Security Hubs, Infrastructure, and Judicial Training Institute among other developments.

The outgoing Chief Justice’s retirement aligns with the constitution of Liberia that by age 70, members of the High Court Bench must abdicate.

Chief Justice Korkpor turned 70 years on September 5, 2022, and will quit the High post of the Liberian Judiciary tomorrow.

Chief Justice Korkpor was nominated to the Supreme Court of Liberia in 2013 and confirmed in April 2013 and was seated on April 18, 2013.

Earlier he served as Associate Justice, Supreme Court of Liberia from January 4, 2004, to April 17, 2013

He served as an Associate Professor, at Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law, and the University of Liberia from 2009 to 2010.

Chief Justice Korkpor is also a Member of the West Africa Judges Association (WAJA) and a Member of the Chief Justices’ Judicial Council of ECOWAS Community Court of Justice as well as a member of the Liberia National Bar Association (LNBA).

He will be replaced tomorrow by the confirmed Chief Justice Sie –A- Nyene Gyapa Youh.