Rights
An American-derived constitutional order: the 1986 Constitution and a Supreme Court on the US model
Liberia was never a European colony. The 1986 Constitution, adopted after the 1980 coup, establishes a US-style separation of powers with a bicameral Legislature and a Supreme Court of five justices exercising judicial review. Article 27 restricts land ownership and citizenship to persons of Negro descent.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Supreme Court of Liberia (five justices) has final constitutional jurisdiction; Circuit Courts and specialised courts below.
Governing law
- Constitution of the Republic of Liberia, 1986 — US-model separation of powers; article 27(b) Negro-descent citizenship restriction.
In practice
Liberia's legal order descends from nineteenth-century American settler law rather than British colonial administration, and the vocabulary and structure reflect it: a President and Vice-President, a Senate and House of Representatives, and a Supreme Court with a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices exercising review of legislative and executive action. The 1986 Constitution replaced the 1847 text after the Doe coup and survived two civil wars, with the 2003 Comprehensive Peace Agreement operating alongside it during the transition. Article 27(b) limits citizenship, and therefore land ownership under article 22, to persons of Negro descent — an unusual and much-debated provision that survived a 2020 referendum attempt at reform. Article 65 vests judicial power in the Supreme Court and subordinate courts, and the Court's opinions are the principal source of constitutional doctrine. Customary law is recognised for the indigenous majority through a parallel system of tribal courts, and the historical distinction between statutory and customary jurisdictions remains a live equality question.