Pibor Court House. (Photo: UNMISS).

The Judiciary of South Sudan has deployed a constitutional judge to the Greater Pibor Administrative Area for the first time on permanent basis, in a significant move to enhance access to justice.

This comes after the region inaugurated the first-ever standard court building constructed by the UNMISS’ Quick Impact Project in October 2024.

Court of Appeal Chief, Kulang Jerocjam said the deployment of a judge is expected to strengthen the rule of law and improve accountability in the region which has faced longstanding security and governance challenges.

Mr. Kulang, addressing a conference on rule of law and accountability, expressed gratitude to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) for providing a dedicated space for judicial services by constructing a court in Pibor.

Previously, the judiciary relied on mobile courts to deliver justice in remote areas, with support from UNMISS and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

“We in the judiciary, even though we have some of the challenges with our numbers not being enough, but now we have sent a permanent judge to the people, which is the first time in the history,” he said.

“We used to send mobile court by then to Pibor and other areas with the help of UNMISS and UNDP. But now we have already sent a judge who is among us here. He is going to be a permanent judge in Pibor administrative area.”

Mr. Kulang also appealed to the governments of Jonglei State and the Greater Pibor Administrative Area to allocate land for building courts in various counties.

He emphasized the need for judicial infrastructure in places like Pochalla and Jebel Buma, where accessibility hinders justice delivery.

The South Sudan government has struggled to provide effective legal services for the most vulnerable populations due to conflicts, according to Search for Common Ground.

It adds that the absence of a well-established justice system, coupled with the limited ability of civil society to address critical gaps in current justice practices, has limited citizens’ capacity to demand effective legal remedies.

The legal system in South Sudan is built on the combination of statutory and customary laws, and while the country has enacted dozens of laws since 2005, their use in legal disputes and courts is limited, says an overview by legal experts, published in New York University’s School of Law.

It is further stated that poor dissemination of laws, little experience with the new statutory provisions, the difficulty of many legal staff in understanding English, and lack of access to statutory courts limit the relevance of the new laws.