By Staff Writer
Cllr. Jallah Barbu, Dean of the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia is among four candidates currently vying to replace Cllr. Jonathan T. Massaquoi, as Executive Director of the Office of the War and Economic Crimes Court for Liberia
Besides Cllr. Barbu, who is the former Chairman of the Law Reform Commission, Cllr Boakai Kanneh, the Verdier brothers, Counsellors James and Jerome and Ms. Massa Washington are all in the running for the influential post, according to a source closed to the committee.
The vetting process began on Thursday, October 9, by the President Joseph Boakai’s committee constituted to recruit and select three qualify candidates for appointment of the Executive Director.
The President of the three potential winners would appoint one as the Executive Director.
This is because Barbu has the experience and credibility,as the drafted of the Act to create the War and Economic Crimes Court.
As Executive Director,one must organised development partners to fund the operation of the Office. He or she should possess the requisite qualifications to mobilise and organize training for lawyers, judges, the media and the court staffers.
Barbu, chair the ad-hoc committee that drafted the Act for the Establishment of a Special War and Economic Crimes Court for Liberia.
Cllr. Barbu hails from Lofa County, Northern Liberia and has lived substantial portion of his life in Liberia although he has widely traveled to several African and other countries. He is married and blessed with children.
Dr. Jallah A. Barbu holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting with minor in Management from the University of Liberia; he also holds a Bachelor of Law (Hons.) degree from the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia. Dr. Barbu earned his first graduate legal studies degree, Master of Laws and terminal legal studies degree, Doctor of Juridical Science from Indiana University Maurer School of Laws in the United States of America. He has earned certificates and diplomas in diverse professional areas including computer studies, management consultancy, alternative dispute resolution, intellectual property, gender equality advocacy and legislative drafting.
Dr. Barbu’s professional experience spans over thirty years in the fields of business, teaching, law, research and Publication.
In the field of business, he has worked as a private and public accountant/auditor, accounting and management consultant, banker, and farmer. He has worked with prestigious institutions including Citibank N.A. Monrovia; VOSCON, Inc., CPA; Deloitte & Touche Consulting, West Africa; and H. Richards & Company, CPAs.
In the field of law, he has practiced at all levels of Liberia’s court system including the Supreme Court whose Bar he has been a member of for at least fifteen years and has enjoyed the extra-ordinary privilege of serving on a number of occasions as amicus curiae of the Court and as a ranking member of the Bar Examination Committees for admission for Attorneys-At-Law and Counsellors-At-Law. In this capacity he has presented hundreds of law graduates in all of the Circuit Courts of Liberia for admission as Attorneys-At-Law to practice law in Liberia.
Dr. Barbu’s legal experience also encompasses managing and/or partnering in law offices in Liberia. In addition to serving as the director of the Institute for Constitutional Research, Policy and Strategic Development (ICRPSD), Dr. Barbu is partner and senior consulting consul of the Public Interest Law Office (PILO). Through its partial pro bono nature, the firm furthers Dr. Barbu’s voluntarily service records.
Dr. Barbu’s teaching experience includes teaching accounting in vocational schools and at the levels of associate and bachelor’s degree, including at the University of Liberia; membership on the faculty of the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia where he taught several courses including constitutional law, maritime law, legal accounting, administrative law, moot court, African Law, Constitutional Design, and Legislative Drafting. His classroom experience also includes co-teaching as Assistant Instructor, with professors of law at Indiana University Maurer School of Law, Bloomington, Indiana, United States of America.
As a researcher and publisher, Dr. Barbu has single handedly and along with other colleagues, published several articles and books. Publication of Liberia’s pioneering Commentary on the Meaning of the Liberian Constitution that covers critical fundamental rights issues involving economic and property rights, privacy, separation of powers and judicial powers, and, a constitutional law course book as a faculty fellow of the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law, as well as newspaper articles on law have been highly rated by scholars and readers around the world. Dr. Barbu has conducted several high profile and technical research and advisory works for local and international groups, including National Consultant for the Governance Commission and Land Commission, the Liberia Land Authority, the Center for National Documents and Records Agency, the Forestry Development Authority, the Ministry of Finance, and the United States Institute of Peace (USIP).
Dr. Barbu’s public service experience includes the Ministry of Finance, Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation, Booker Washing Institute, and Vice Chairperson and later Chairperson of the Law Reform Commission of Liberia. He was privileged to lead the review and drafting of several legal instruments, most of which have been enacted into law; some of these laws are the Commercial Code and the Act Establishing the Commercial Court; the Act establishing the Liberia Revenue Authority; the Decent Work Act; the Freedom of Information Law; and, the Children’s Law.
Dr. Barbu’s public advisory services extend to the highest public offices of the Government of Liberia; that is, the offices of the President, Vice President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and President Pro-Tempore of the Senate, and has been a member of the Special Presidential Review Committee, an independent body established by the President of Liberia to advise on the legality and economic benefits of concession agreements and contracts entered into by the Government.
