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Judicial Reforms in the Republic of South Sudan BY : Lady Justice Joyce Aluoch, EBS,CBS, Former Judge and First-Vice President, International Criminal Court (ICC), Certified International Mediator(IMI),Accredited Mediator, Chartered Mediator, MCIArb.
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22 December, 2024
I was a member of the Judicial Reform Committee for South Sudan, having been appointed by IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority for Development) The Committee consists of 12 members (Justice James Ogoola (Rtd)Judge from Uganda, ten lawyers from South Sudan, (five from the government, and five from the opposition). The Committee was commissioned in Juba-South Sudan in July 2022. It is under the Peace Agreement known as the Revitalized (power sharing) Agreement for the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan. The Agreement was signed on 12 September 2018, by 5 Political Parties, Civil Society Coalitions, Women Blocks and IGAD as the mediator. It is the current sovereign document in South Sudan until a permanent Constitution is enacted and adopted. It gives legitimacy to the Executive, The National Assembly, the Judiciary etc. The Agreement was to remain in force until February 2023, as the elections were to be conducted in December 2022, however, the parties to the Agreement signed another Agreement, known as the “Agreement on the RoadMap to a Peaceful Democratic Transitional Period of the Revitalized Agreement.” This was supposed to run until February 2025, with the elections being conducted in December 2024. This too has changed as the same parties signed another agreement this year, extending the period of national elections to December 2026. The Republic of South Sudan, being country that was in conflict for over 20 years, there is still a lot of suspicion and mistrust amongst the people, so I used my mediation skills to navigate my way round. Nevertheless our committee visited most parts of the country and engaged the inhabitants in public consultations as to what reforms they want to see in the judiciary. The public gave their views freely which was very helpful. We finally concluded the work and prepared a draft report which was subjected to a Validation Workshop from 23 to 25th October 2024 in Juba the capital. Afterwards we in cooperated the comments we found relevant. Our Final Report on Judicial Reforms was presented to HE President Salva Kiir Mayardit of South Sudan at State House in Juba on December 20, 2024. We sincerely hope that our recommendations on judicial reforms will be implemented.
