Justice Charlyne Brumskine Biography, Career and Family
Justice Charlyne Mnamah-Mar Brumskine is a Liberian lawyer, law professor and judge. She is a citizen of Liberia, and her family roots are in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County. Her exact place of birth has not been publicly confirmed in the sources reviewed for this article. She holds the title of Counsellor in Liberia, and in October 2026 she became a judge of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice.
She is the first Liberian woman to sit on that regional court, and on 13 October 2026 her fellow judges elected her its president. She is also the founder of a Monrovia law firm, a former university lecturer and the 2023 vice presidential candidate of Liberia’s Collaborating Political Parties. This biography covers her background, education, career, public service and the facts that are still unconfirmed.
Who Is Justice Charlyne Brumskine
Justice Charlyne Brumskine is a Liberian attorney with more than two decades of legal practice. According to New Narratives, she brings more than 23 years of experience to the regional bench. She is licensed to practise law in Liberia, New York and Washington, D.C.
She is best known in Liberia for three things. She leads CMB Law Group, a firm in Monrovia that she founded. She ran for vice president in 2023 on the ticket led by Alexander B. Cummings Jr. And she is the daughter of the late Charles Walker Brumskine, a senior lawyer, former President Pro Tempore of the Liberian Senate and founder of the Liberty Party.
Her newest role is the one that now defines her public profile. She sits on the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in Abuja, Nigeria, where she serves as president for a two year term.
Justice Charlyne Brumskine Early Life
Her full name is reported as Charlyne Mnamah-Mar Brumskine. Her exact date of birth has not been published by reliable sources, so it cannot be stated here. A 2023 report in The New Dawn described her as 47 years old, which would place her birth around 1976. This is an estimate only and should not be treated as confirmed.
Details about her childhood are limited. There is no verified public account of her primary or secondary schooling, and this article does not guess at them. What is clear is that she grew up in a family closely tied to Liberian law and politics, and that she later spoke of her late father with great respect when she learned of her ECOWAS selection.
Justice Charlyne Brumskine State of Origin and Family Roots
Liberia has counties rather than states, so her place of origin is best described by county and ethnic community. According to Wikipedia, which draws on a 2023 profile by Dakpannah 24, she belongs to the Bassa ethnic community. Her family roots are in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, and also in Yekepa, Nimba County.
Grand Bassa County lies on the Atlantic coast of Liberia. Buchanan is its capital and one of the country’s main port towns. The Bassa people are one of the major ethnic groups in Liberia, and the county has long been a political base for many Bassa leaders.
Her father, Charles Walker Brumskine, was himself born in Grand Bassa County, according to his Wikipedia entry. He earned a degree at the University of Liberia, studied law in the United States and went on to serve in the Senate. He ran for president several times before his death in November 2019. Reports differ on how many times he ran, with some saying three and others saying four.
Her link to Grand Bassa has shaped her public life. In 2022 she was reported to have been petitioned by residents of the county’s District 3 to seek a seat in the House of Representatives. During the 2023 campaign she also spoke to Bassa communities in Monrovia, telling them the Liberty Party founded by her father was meant to give Bassa people a political voice.
Justice Charlyne Brumskine Education and Bar Admissions
Wikipedia lists three institutions in her education. She studied at Barnard College in New York City and earned a Juris Doctor degree at Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C. She also holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia.
Her bar admissions are better documented than her school years. She is admitted to the Liberia National Bar, the New York State Bar and the bar of other United States jurisdictions, according to an allAfrica report on the Amujae Initiative. The same report says she was valedictorian of the Liberia Supreme Court Bar Examination in 2022.
Justice Charlyne Brumskine Career
Her career runs across private law practice, government advisory work, teaching, politics and now the regional judiciary. The sections below follow that path in rough order.
Founding CMB Law Group
She is the founder and managing counsel of CMB Law Group, a law firm in Monrovia. The allAfrica report describes it as one of the few law practices in Liberia established and led by a woman. Its work covers corporate and commercial law, and its clients have included multinational companies, development agencies, non governmental organisations, local businesses and government bodies.
During the presidency of George Weah, the firm served as external counsel to the Central Bank of Liberia, according to New Narratives. She has also said she is training three younger women lawyers at the firm so they can take on greater responsibility over time.
Public Policy and Government Work
Under the administration of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, she worked with the Ministry of Justice on Liberia’s framework against human trafficking. She also worked with the Ministry of Commerce while Liberia negotiated its accession to the World Trade Organization. Both points come from the New Narratives report.
A 2023 opinion piece in FrontPageAfrica credits her with leading several laws, including the Anti-Human Trafficking Law and the Land Rights Act. That piece was written by a member of her own campaign office, so readers should treat those claims with care until they are confirmed by independent records.
Teaching at the University of Liberia
She has taught at the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia, where The New Dawn reported she held the rank of Associate Professor. New Narratives adds that she has also taught at the Liberian School of Law. Her 2023 campaign profile said she taught at Grimes without pay and mentored young women, though that detail comes from a campaign source.
Entry into Politics
By her own account and by media reports, she entered national politics in 2022. She was reported to have been asked by residents of Grand Bassa County to run for a legislative seat. She also took part in efforts to reconcile members of the Liberty Party after her father’s death. Wikipedia says she was elected a city councillor in Buchanan, but that claim has only one weak source and has not been checked against official records here.
Vice Presidential Run in 2023
In 2023 she was chosen as the running mate of Alexander B. Cummings Jr., the standard bearer of the Collaborating Political Parties. Her campaign focused on accountability, fighting corruption, jobs and attracting investment. She answered critics who called her new to politics by pointing to the policies and regulations she had drafted for the legislative, executive and judicial branches.
The decision drew some criticism from Liberty Party supporters who had hoped she would run for the House. She later said she had no regrets and that politics was not the end of her career. The Cummings and Brumskine ticket did not win the presidency, and she returned to her legal work.
Appointment to the ECOWAS Court
In July 2026 the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government approved her as a judge of the Community Court of Justice for the 2026 to 2030 term. Liberia had submitted three nominees. They were interviewed in Sierra Leone in April by the ECOWAS Community Judicial Council, which is made up of chief justices from across the region.
She was sworn in on 6 October 2026 in Abuja by Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who chairs the ECOWAS Authority. Four other judges took the oath with her, from Benin, The Gambia, Nigeria and Togo. Judges serve one term of four years that cannot be renewed.
Election as President of the Court
On 13 October 2026 her fellow judges elected her president of the court for a two year term, according to FrontPageAfrica. In that role she presides over hearings and deliberations, leads the court’s administration and represents it before ECOWAS bodies. She is also expected to work with national judiciaries and civil society to widen access to justice.
Justice Charlyne Brumskine Awards and Recognition
Several honours have been reported in connection with her. Each is listed here with its source so readers can judge its reliability.
The Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center selected her for the fourth cohort of its Amujae Initiative in 2025, which supports women leaders in Africa. This is reported by allAfrica. The same report notes that she chairs the Governance Pillar of the African Women Leaders Network, Liberia Chapter, and serves on the board of Harvest Intercontinental American University.
Her 2022 valedictorian result at the Supreme Court Bar Examination is also reported by allAfrica. A campaign written profile adds that she received the Liberty Young Achievers Award in 2019 and was named the 31st most inspirational woman in Africa in 2021. Those two items come from a source linked to her campaign, and the issuing bodies have not been checked independently.
Her election as the first Liberian woman on the ECOWAS Court is a historic distinction, though it is an office rather than an award.
Justice Charlyne Brumskine Philanthropy and Community Work
The same campaign profile lists a range of charitable acts between 2021 and 2023. These include a donation toward the recovery of the Liberian Government Hospital after a fire, meals and medical bill support for patients, and fuel for surgeries. It also mentions one million Liberian dollars for scholarships for students in Bassa in 2022.
The profile also says she supplied solar lights to dark neighbourhoods in Buchanan and funded hand pumps for clean water, and that she supported Bassa gospel groups and choirs. These figures were published by a person working in her campaign office during an election, so they are best read as reported claims rather than audited facts.
Outside politics, she has publicly supported mentoring for young women and the wider cause of women in leadership. Women hold only 10 of the 103 seats in Liberia’s Legislature, a gap that New Narratives says she wants to help close through mentoring and example.
Justice Charlyne Brumskine Vision for the ECOWAS Court
She has said she wants ordinary West Africans to understand and use the court. In her words, the court should come to Monrovia and other capitals so people can see how it works. She noted that a woman in Buchanan can bring a case to the court if she meets the requirements.
About 90 percent of the court’s cases involve human rights, she told New Narratives. These range from human trafficking and unlawful detention to freedom of expression and fair trial rights. The court allows individuals to file human rights complaints directly, without first exhausting every remedy in their home courts.
The court also faces real challenges. Member states do not always comply with its judgments, and it has no enforcement arm of its own. Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger left ECOWAS in January 2025, which removed their citizens from the court’s reach. In her acceptance address, she promised to lead with seriousness, openness and responsible stewardship.
Justice Charlyne Brumskine Net Worth and Personal Life
Her net worth has not been published by any reliable source, and this article does not offer a figure. Any number found elsewhere online should be treated as a guess.
Little is verified about her private life. Public records and major news reports do not confirm details about a spouse or children, so none are listed. Her father, Charles Walker Brumskine, is the one family member consistently named in reliable reporting.
Conclusion
Charlyne Brumskine has moved from private legal practice and teaching to national politics and now to one of West Africa’s most important courts. Her path combines a long professional record with a family name known across Liberia. Her election as president of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, only a week after taking the oath, marks a new stage in that path.
Some details remain unconfirmed, including her exact birth date and place of birth, and several philanthropy claims come from campaign material. This article will need updating as more verified information is published about her work on the court.
FAQs
Who is Justice Charlyne Brumskine?
She is a Liberian lawyer, law professor and politician who serves as a judge and president of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in Abuja. She also founded CMB Law Group in Monrovia.
What is Justice Charlyne Brumskine’s nationality?
She is Liberian. Her family roots are in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, and she belongs to the Bassa community according to published profiles.
Where does Justice Charlyne Brumskine come from?
Her family origin is Grand Bassa County, with additional roots reported in Yekepa, Nimba County. Her exact birthplace has not been confirmed publicly.
Who is the father of Justice Charlyne Brumskine?
Her father was Charles Walker Brumskine, a prominent Liberian lawyer, former President Pro Tempore of the Senate and founder of the Liberty Party. He died in November 2019.
Is Justice Charlyne Brumskine the first Liberian woman on the ECOWAS Court?
Yes. New Narratives and FrontPageAfrica both report that she is the first Liberian woman to serve as a judge of the court. Two Liberian men, Micah Wilkins Wright and Yussif D. Kaba, served before her.
When was she elected president of the ECOWAS Court?
Her fellow judges elected her on 13 October 2026, a week after she was sworn in on 6 October 2026. The presidency lasts two years.
Did she run for vice president of Liberia?
Yes. She was the running mate of Alexander B. Cummings Jr. for the Collaborating Political Parties in the 2023 general election. The ticket did not win.
Where did she study?
Wikipedia lists Barnard College, Howard University School of Law and the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia.
Martin Leo is a writer at thebiographyzone.com.ng, where he covers biographies of notable personalities across entertainment, sports, and public life. Known for clear, well-researched storytelling, he’s passionate about turning real lives into engaging, accurate, and reader-friendly profiles for a global audience.
