JOSIAH ODEI, Appellant, v. ALFRED D. VERDIER, Justice of the Peace and Chief of the Bassa Tribe in the Monrovia City Area, Appellee.

APPEAL FROM ORDER IN CHAMBERS ON APPLICATION FOR WRIT OF PROHIBITION. Argued October 29, 1962. Decided February 8, 1963. 1. A tribal chief who is also a justice of the peace cannot properly exercise the functions of both offices in the same case. 2. A suit for criminal conversation, as defined in 1956 Code, tit. 1, � 405, is a civil action wherein a defendant cannot properly be sentenced by fine or imprisonment. 3. Prohibition will lie to restrain the enforcement of an illegal judgment by a tribal chief. On appeal from an order in Chambers denying prohibition, the Supreme Court, en banc, reversed the order and granted the writ. Beysolow and Cooper Law Firm for appellant. liam Cisco for appellee. MR. CHIEF JUSTICE WILSON Wil- delivered the opinion of the Court. In his capacity as tribal chief within the Monrovia city area, one Alfred D. Verdier of the Bassa tribe tried and determined a case of illicit intercourse by appellant with the wife of one Joseph Brown, the offense being known and styled in our code of laws as criminal conversation. After hearing the evidence produced at the trial, a judgment was entered by said tribal chief sentencing appellant to pay a fine of $100, which we interpret as meaning damages assessable in favor of the aggrieved husband if the woman be the head wife of the plaintiff, and costs of court in the sum of $9.75, aggregating $109.75. 285 286 LIBERIAN LAW REPORTS Appellant was imprisoned pending payment of the amount adjudged against him, pursuant to a commitment signed by the said Alfred D. Verdier as justice of the peace for Montserrado County and not as tribal chief. Subsequently, appellant filed a petition for a writ of prohibition in the Chambers of Mr. Justice Harris. Because of the illness of Mr. Justice Harris, Mr. Justice Pierre heard and made ruling on said petition, denying same. Appellant then appealed to this Court en banc for review of the ruling in chambers on the merits of the issues advanced in said petition. For administrative reasons, and because of the influx of several tribal peoples in the Monrovia area where there is a better opportunity for a livelihood, it pleased the President of Liberia to nominate and appoint a tribal chief for each of the principal tribal groups; and as there were sundry matters which resulted in litigation before these tribal chiefs which could only be heard and determined by a justice of the peace, the President of Liberia was further pleased to commission all tribal chiefs within Monrovia area as justices of the peace, thereby giving them dual jurisdictional functions. Inspecting the record certified to us, we find that, although the tribal chief sentenced appellant after trial as a tribal chief, he committed appellant as a justice of the peace, thereby exercising the functions of tribal chief and justice of the peace in one and the same action. This irregularity was conceded by the Chambers Justice; and for the sake of this opinion, we will quote the statutory provisions cited in the ruling of the Chambers Justice: “A husband may bring suit against a man who has engaged in illicit intercourse with his head wife or any of his secondary wives. The damages awarded in such a suit shall not exceed one hundred dollars if the head wife was involved, nor ten dollars if a secondary wife was involved.” 1956 Code, tit. 1 � 405. , LIBERIAN LAW REPORTS 287 “The judicial functions herein vested in the Provincial and District Commissioners and the County Superintendents and County Commissioners and chiefs shall not be delegated to any other person, and any such official who unauthorizedly delegates such authority shall be liable to dismissal from office. An unauthorized person who shall exercise or attempt to exercise judicial functions within the Tribal Jurisdiction shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars or imprisonment not exceeding six months or both.” 1956 Code, tit. 1, � The Chambers Justice, however, held that the irregularity is not sufficiently grave to affect the jurisdiction of the hearing of the matter of criminal conversation; hence issuance of the peremptory writ was denied; from which ruling this appeal has been taken to this Court en banc. The Chambers Justice correctly stated the law on criminal conversation and the judicial forum to which it belongs. We cannot reconcile ourselves with the point of view that, when dual functions are exercised by a tribal chief who is also a justice of the peace the officer so behaving should not be prohibited from exercising these dual functions in the one and the same case. More than this is the fact, as shown by the record certified to us, that not only was appellant required to pay damages of $ioo, but a prison sentence of three months was also imposed. This gives the charge the nature of a criminal offense, although criminal conversation is a purely civil matter and under no circumstances should subject appellant to the payment of a fine or sentence of imprisonment. The conduct of the tribal chief and justice of the peace was a flagrant violation of law and practice, materially injurious to the interest and civil liberty of appellant. For this reckless and illegal behavior of the tribal chief and justice of the peace, a peremptory writ should have issued to prohibit him from perpetrating said illegal acts. 288 LIBERIAN LAW REPORTS The ruling of the Chambers Justice is therefore reversed and a peremptory writ is ordered issued, restraining the said tribal chief and justice of the peace from the enforcement of this illegal judgment rendered against appellant. The imprisonment of appellant is declared illegal, and he is hereby ordered immediately discharged from further imprisonment on said illegal commitment. Costs against appellee. And it is so ordered. Reversed.