Dollars) on a quarterly basis (every three months). Upon leaving
Office honorariums shall be disbursed as follow: Chairman, US$25,
000.00; Vice Chairman, US$20, 000.00; Speakers, US$12, 800.00;
Deputy speakers, US$10, 000.00; Chief JusticeUS$12, 800.00;
Associate Justices, 10, 000.00 and TLA Members, US7, 500.00.”
Section 1 (6):
“Appropriate diplomatic, protocol, accommodation, courtesy and
facilities, and;
Section 1 (7):
“Such other social amenities, privileges and benefits appropriate to
commensurate with the status of a former public official of similar
standing,”
37. It is informative from the content of the Act that the purpose is to provide
appropriate retirement benefits for all former members of the transitional council
that have served in the respective capacities mentioned therein, which is befitting
to former public official of similar standing. The key operative word to qualify for
the entitlement provided in The Retirement Benefit Act is to have been a former
office holder. The Act did not specify whether resignation from office automatically
ousts the official from being regarded as a former member. A close look at the Act
shows that other than the title where the word “Retirement” was used once, the
word “former” appears in three places in the body of the Act which is emphatic
enough to explain the purposive interpretation of the Act that retirement benefits
are meant for former members of the Transitional Council of Liberia. Furthermore
a close look at the provision of Article 1(1) of the Act shows that payment of
honorarium is merely based, “upon leaving office”. There is no stipulated mode of
leaving office in the Act to qualify one for the stipulated benefits. Black’s law
dictionary defines “leave” simply as departure or act of going away. The wordings
of Act is clear and unambiguous and as such no extraneous meaning should be
imported into to it. In CAMINETTI V. UNITED STATES, 242 U.S. 470 (1917), the Court
while applying the Literal rule of interpretation in its reasoning held thus:
"It is elementary that the meaning of a statute must, in the first instance, be
sought in the language in which the act is framed, and if that is plain... the sole
function of the courts is to enforce it according to its terms." And if a statute's
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