Liberia
Common law
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Liberia is a common-law country whose legal system was built on American models, because the country was founded by freed American slaves. It has a Constitution of 1986 and two parallel systems: statutory law and customary law.
Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Where the law comes from
- The Constitution of 1986, the highest law
- Statutes, and the common law, in the American tradition
- Customary law, which applies mainly in rural areas
- Decisions of the Supreme Court
The main courts
- The Supreme Court, the final court
- Circuit Courts and specialised courts, such as the commercial court
- Magistrate Courts, and traditional courts for customary matters
Becoming a lawyer
A law degree from the University of Liberia and a bar exam, then admission to the Liberian National Bar Association.
What may surprise you
- It is the only African country whose law is modelled mainly on American, not British, law.
- Customary law operates in a separate system for rural populations.
- Its Constitution echoes the United States Constitution in its structure.
Related systems
How this country is classified
The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Liberia as: Common law, Customary. It names the systems in order of importance.
The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.
Other countries in the same family
Sources
Sources last reviewed: October 2026.
TheLawToKnow Tools’s Legal Families Atlas is an educational overview. It simplifies on purpose, and it is not legal advice. For a real legal question about Liberia, consult a lawyer qualified there. Report a mistake.
