Sierra Leone’s courts have observed a one-day recess on Friday, 31 July 2026, to allow judicial officers and legal practitioners to attend the Sierra Leone Bar Association’s Annual General Meeting with registries remaining open throughout and the NASSIT Court following on Saturday.
The Judiciary of Sierra Leone has announced a temporary recess for the High Court and Magistrates’ Courts across the country on Friday, 31 July 2026, to enable judicial officers and legal practitioners to participate in the Sierra Leone Bar Association (SLBA) Annual General Meeting 2026.
The recess applies to all High Courts and Magistrates’ Courts nationwide. The NASSIT Court will observe its own recess on Saturday, 1 August 2026, in alignment with the same purpose.
The Judiciary has clarified that despite the suspension of court sittings during the recess period, all court registries and other support offices will remain open and continue to provide their normal services to the public. Members of the public with urgent administrative needs filings, documentation, or registry-related matters can therefore continue to access those services without interruption.
The Sierra Leone Bar Association Annual General Meeting is one of the most significant events in the country’s legal calendar bringing together practising lawyers, judicial officers, legal academics, and members of the profession from across Sierra Leone for a structured engagement that covers the state of the legal profession, elections to Bar leadership, policy positions, and the profession’s collective response to developments in the justice sector.
The decision by the Judiciary to formally gazette a court recess in recognition of the AGM reflects the institutional weight accorded to the event. It ensures that no legal practitioner is forced to choose between appearing in court and participating in a gathering that shapes the direction of the profession they belong to.
The SLBA has been an active voice in Sierra Leone’s public discourse in recent months most notably in its challenge to the composition of the tribunal convened to investigate suspended Supreme Court Justice Desmond Halloway, where the Lawyers’ Society raised constitutional objections to the eligibility of tribunal members. The Association has also been closely watching the passage of the Constitutional Amendment Bill 2025 through Parliament a process that has implications for the electoral system, political eligibility, and the governance framework within which the judiciary operates.
The recess is strictly time-limited. Court sittings are expected to resume their normal schedule following the AGM period, with no indication from the Judiciary of any further disruption to proceedings.
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For litigants, legal practitioners, and members of the public with matters before the High Courts or Magistrates’ Courts, the one-day recess represents a brief and planned pause rather than a disruption one that the Judiciary has communicated clearly and in advance, with registry services maintained throughout.
The NASSIT Court’s separate Saturday recess date reflects the specific scheduling of that specialised court’s participation in Bar Association activities, and similarly does not affect the availability of registry and administrative support.
