FIRESTONE AGRICULTURAL WORKERS UNION OF LIBERIA (FAWUL), represented by JOHNSON MULBAH, THE GENERAL AGRICULTURAL AND ALLIED WORKERS UNION OF LIBERIA (GAAWUL), represented by ALFRED B. Z. SUMMERVILLE, THE LIBERIA FEDERATION OF LABOUR UNIONS (LFLU), thru its Acting President and Acting Secretary General, ARTHUR Z. KULIE and PAUL V. NYELN, et al. Appellants, v. RICHARD S. FATORMA and STANLEY NOWON, Suspended President and Secretary General of FAWUL, Appellees.

APPEAL FROM THE RULING OF THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE FIRST JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, CRIMINAL ASSIZES, COURT “C”, MONTSERRADO
COUNTY.

Heard: May 2, 2002. Decided: July 5, 2002.

1. The First Judicial Circuit Court, Montserrado County, which is a criminal court, has exclusive jurisdiction over summary proceedings arising from criminal cases emanating from either a magistrate or justice of the peace court in Montserrado County.
2. The National Labour Court and the judges thereof have the exclusive jurisdiction, power, and authority to issue or cause the issuance of writs of execution, attachment, garnishment, ne exeat republica, and summons in summary proceedings addressed to the hearing officers or labour commissioners under their jurisdiction for the enforcement of judgments or orders and in exercise of the appellate jurisdiction vested in each labour court.
3. The labour courts in Liberia have exclusive jurisdiction over summary proceedings arising from labour disputes emanating from a hearing officer or a labour commissioner.
4. A labour union has the exclusive power and authority to suspend or remove from office its elected officers in conformity with its bylaws and constitution, subject to review by the Ministry of Labour which is the statutory regulatory agency for labour matters in Liberia.
5. A trial judge presiding over the criminal court has no authority, legal basis to entertain and grant a petition for summary proceedings over matters in the nature of a labour dispute where there is absent any pendency of any criminal offense before a magistrate or justice of the peace court.
6. The subordinate courts of Liberia are created by statutes and their respective jurisdictions are prescribed by such statutes.
7. Jurisdiction is the power and authority of a court to hear and determine a cause between contending parties. As such, a court cannot render a binding judgment without possessing competent jurisdiction over both the subject matter and the parties litigant.

The appellants appealed from a ruling of the trial judge presiding in the Circuit Court for the First Judicial Circuit, Criminal Assizes, Court “C”, Montserrado County, reinstating to office the appellees, suspended officials, president and secretary of the co-appellant Union, the Firestone Agriculture and Allied Workers Union (FAWUL), an affiliate of the other co-appellant unions. The appellees had filed in the criminal court aforesaid a petition for summary proceedings against FAWUL for the action taken against them. The appellants had contested the jurisdiction of the court, asserting that the nature of the matter was a labour dispute and that jurisdiction was properly vested in the Ministry of Labour and the National Labour Court. The trial judge rejected the contention and ordered the appellees reinstated.
On appeal, the Supreme Court reversed the ruling of the trial judge, holding that he had acted without jurisdiction and that as such his ruling was null and void ab initio. The Court noted that subordinate courts, such as the criminal court, are the creation of statutory enactments and that their powers and authority were prescribed by the enacting laws. Under the laws, the Court pointed out, the First Judicial Circuit Court had jurisdiction over criminal matters emanating from the magisterial or justice of the peace court in Montserrado County. It did not have jurisdiction over matters involving labour disputes where there was no criminal case growing therefrom which had been taken to or was pending before a magisterial or justice of the peace court. The Court observed that a labour union had the right to suspend any of its officials, in conformity with its bylaws and constitution, subject to review by the Ministry of Labour which was the regulatory agency statutorily vested with the authority to entertain labour disputes, as in the instant case. The Court therefore opined that as the criminal court was without jurisdiction, its ruling was void. Hence, the ruling was reversed and the case re-manded to the Ministry of Labour for a hearing on the merits.

Roger K. Martin, Sr. of Martin Law Office appeared for the appellant. J. H. Constance of the Green and Associates, Inc. appeared for the appellee

MR. JUSTICE SACKOR delivered the opinion of tile Court.

The Executive Board of the Firestone Agriculture and Allied Workers Union, FAWUL, investigated and suspended Richard S. Fatorma and Stanley Nowon, President and Secre-tary General of FAWUL, respectively, for alleged financial malpractice, and it required them to submit to an audit. The suspension of the two officers of FAWUL was confirmed by the General Agriculture and Allied Workers Union of Liberia (GAAWUL) and the Liberia Federation of Labour Unions (LFLU). The records in the case showed that the appellees appealed to the Ministry of Labour upon a five-count bill of complaint, and that the matter is presently pending before said Ministry undetermined.
On the 22nd day of August, A. D. 2001, the appellees filed an eleven-count petition of summary proceedings against the Ministry of Labour and the Liberia Federation of Labour Unions before the First Judicial Circuit, Criminal Court “C”, Montserrado County, during its August Term, A. D. 2001, presided over by His Honour Emery S. Paye, assigned circuit judge.
The appellees substantially contended in their petition that the General Agriculture and Allied Workers Union of Liberia and the Liberia Federation of Labour Unions did not have jurisdiction over the subject matter of financial malpractice and that they, the appellees, had requested the Ministry of Labour to dismiss the charge of financial mismanagement/ misapplication of entrusted funds levied against them, but that the request was to no avail. The appellees therefore requested the court to declare the acts of the appellants null and void ab initio, and they prayed that they be re-instated.
On the 20th day of August, A. D. 2001, the appellants filed a three-count returns, basically contending that the subject matter was exclusively labour in nature and was pending before the Ministry of Labour undetermined. They therefore prayed the trial court to dismiss the summary proceedings for lack of jurisdiction.
On September 12, 2001, 22nd day’s jury sitting, the trial court rendered its final ruling dismissing the complaint or allegation asserted against the Co-respondent Ministry of Labour, but granted that part of the petition which complained against the action taken by the appellants in suspending the appellees and it ordered the reinstatement of the two suspen-ded officials of FAWUL. The appellants excepted to this ruling and appealed to this Court of final resort upon a seven-count bill of exceptions. This Court, however, deems only count 7 to be worthy of consideration, and we hereunder quote verbatim the said count for the benefit of this opinion.

“Appellants say, further to all the above, that the entire matter involving a misunderstanding among Union mem-bers is exclusively labour in nature, over which not only the Criminal Court “C” lacks jurisdiction whatsoever, but all other criminal courts for that matter; for acquisition of jurisdiction over a subject matter is not an area of law for the consent of parties, but is precisely provided by law, and a court cannot exercise jurisdiction over a subject matter, which jurisdiction is withheld by law. For refu-sing to dismiss said summary proceedings for lack of jurisdiction over union matters which are exclusively labour in nature, and for failing to remand said matter to the Ministry of Labour which has exclusive original jurisdiction over such matter according to law, and for exercising unauthorized jurisdiction over a labour matter, your Honour committed a reversible error for which your final ruling of September 12, A. D. 2001 should be reversed by the Honourable Supreme Court of Liberia.”
The appellants strongly argued in their brief that an inter-nal investigation of union members cannot amount to a criminal case, in that the appellees, members of FAWUL, were suspended by the local board of FAWUL which also requested them to submit to an audit, and which decision was confirmed by both GAAWUL and the Liberia Federation of Labour Unions. The appellants maintained that there was no evidence of any writ of arrest attached to the petition of sum-mary proceedings charging the appellees with the commission of any crime. As such, the matter was exclusively labor in nature over which Criminal Court “C” has no jurisdiction. Al-though the appellants raised and argued four issues before us, we deem only the fourth issue to be relevant for the determi-nation of this case. In respect thereto, the appellants contended that the First Judicial Circuit, Criminal Court “C”, Montser-rado County, lacked jurisdiction over summary proceedings against labour organizations to restrain the enforcement of decision regarded as illegal, made by such organizations against its members.
The facts and circumstances in this case present only one issue for our determination. The issue is whether or not a petition for summary proceedings arising from a dispute between a labour union and its members is cognizable before a criminal court?
The crux of the matter before us on appeal is that the board of FAWUL investigated and suspended its president and the general secretary and requested these two senior officials to submit to an audit. The suspension of the appellees was confirmed by both GAAWUL and the Liberia Federation of Labour Unions. The matter is presently pending upon appeal before the Ministry of Labour by the suspended officials of FAWUL. The appellees requested the Ministry of Labour to dismiss the allegation of financial malpractice against them and prayed the Ministry to order their reinstatement. The records before us is devoid of any evidence that the appellees were arrested and brought before either a magistrate or a justice of the peace in connection with the alleged financial malpractice. However, the two officials filed a petition for summary proceedings against the Ministry of Labour and the Liberia Federation of Labour Unions before the First Judicial Circuit, Criminal Court “C”, Montserrado County.
We agree that the First Judicial Circuit, Montserrado County, which is a criminal court, has exclusive jurisdiction over summary proceedings arising from criminal cases emana-ting from either a magistrate or a justice of the peace in Montserrado County, this being in consonance with section 8.12 of the New Judiciary Law of 1972, title 17, Liberian Code of Laws Revised. In the instant case, there is no criminal case pending before either a magistrate or a justice of the peace whereby the rights of Richard S. Fatorma and Stanley Nowon have been abridged by the arbitrary action of such magistrate or justice of the peace.
We shall now take recourse to our labor statute as it relates to summary proceedings in a labor matter in this jurisdiction. Section 28.3 of An Act To Repeal An Act Amending The Labour Practices Law of Liberia With Respect to Administra-tion and Enforcement, and To Amend Decree No. 21 of the Interim National Assembly, approved October 20, 1986 and published by Authority on March 21, 1987, provides, inter alia:

“Section 28.3. Power of the Labour Court. The Labour Courts and judges thereof shall have the exclusive jurisdiction, power and authority to issue or cause the is-suance of writs of execution, attachment, garnishment, ne exeat republica, and summons in summary proceedings addressed to the hearing officers or labour commission-ers under their jurisdiction for the enforcement of judg-ments or orders and in exercise of the appellate jurisdiction herein vested in each labour court. The labour court or a judge thereof shall exercise the power and authority vested in the debt courts or judge thereof in civil cases.”
It is crystal clear from the language of the above quoted statutory provision that the labour courts in Liberia have exclusive jurisdiction over summary proceedings arising from labor disputes emanating from a hearing officer or a labour commissioner in the exercise of their appellate jurisdiction.
We would like to remark that a labour union has the exclusive power and authority to suspend or remove from office its elected officers in conformity with its bylaws and constitution, subject to review by the Ministry of Labour which is the statutory regulatory agency for labour matters in Liberia. We find no legal basis upon which the trial judge entertained and granted the petition of summary proceedings in favor of the two suspended officials of FAWUL in the absence of a pendency of any criminal offense before a magi-strate or justice of the peace.
Our subordinate courts are created by statutes and their respective jurisdictions are clearly prescribed by such statutes. Jurisdiction is the power and authority of a court to hear and determine a cause between contending parties. As such, a court cannot render a binding judgment when it does not possess competent jurisdiction over both the subject matter and the parties to the litigation. We herewith warn judges of our subordinate courts not to knowingly proceed with cases over which they have no jurisdiction, for to do so would be in violation of the very statutes creating their respective courts, as well as the basic elementary practice and procedure in this jurisdiction. We hold accordingly that the final ruling of the trial judge was erroneous and is therefore reversible.
In view of the foregoing, the final ruling of the trial judge is hereby reversed and declared null and void ab initio, and the case is remanded to the Ministry of Labour to be heard on its merits. Costs are to abide the final determination of the case. And it is hereby so ordered.

Judgment reversed.