Renk County court. | Photo by Michael Daniel.
The Judiciary of South Sudan and the Ministry of Justice have deployed the first mobile court to Renk County in Upper Nile State for one month in an initiative supported by UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to enhance access to justice.
The Mobile Court will try backlog of 52 serious cases for inmates held in the Renk County Prison since 2021, the peacekeeping mission said in a press statement.
Among the suspects are 12 individuals to be tried for crimes related to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) offences.
UNMISS said the initiative will allow South Sudan government to dispense formal justice to its citizens irrespective of where they live and to hold perpetrators accountable.
It underscored that mobile courts provide a temporary extension of formal judicial system, deliver justice directly to underserved communities, and reinforce the rule of law where it is most needed.
The statement said the Judiciary of South Sudan will deploy two High Court Judges, including one female, from Juba and Wau to Renk Town to preside over the cases.
The mobile court will utilize existing judicial actors and prosecutors, investigators and other police officers to conduct investigations of the cases under trial, present cases in court, and provide security to the judges and detainees, the mission said.
“The mobile courts are an innovative solution for the delivery of justice to South Sudanese citizens and build credibility and trust in the rule of law,” said Nicholas Haysom, the Special Representative of the Secretary General to South Sudan and Head of UNMISS.
“The outcomes of past mobile courts, supported by UNMISS, have led to new cases being registered by people who have more confidence that justice will be served.”
Such mobile courts were previously deployed in Unity, Western Bahr El Ghazal, and Warrap in the last two years, and UNMISS said the projects are transforming justice delivery, changing attitudes towards sexual violence and children’s rights, and instilling hope that fair trials are possible, and perpetrators face justice.
The peacekeeping body supports multiple government partners by providing training and building capacity as part of its mandate to protect civilians, particularly women and children, and prevent conflict related sexual violence and sexual and gender-based violence.
This includes providing technical support to the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs to build capacity on human rights, accountability and the fight against impunity.
South Sudan government struggles to provide effective legal services for the most vulnerable populations due to years of conflicts, according to Search for Common Ground.
It adds that 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.
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