Newly elected Chairperson of South Sudan Bar Association. (-)

The President of the South Sudan Bar Association, Arop Malueth, has raised concern over the concentration of legal professionals in Juba, warning that it is leaving much of the country without access to justice.

Malueth says more than 80 percent of the country’s nearly 5,000 lawyers are based in the capital, while only about 20 percent serve the rest of the country.

He added that the judiciary itself remains critically understaffed, with fewer than 100 judges nationwide.

“We are almost 5,000 in number; 80 percent is stationed in Juba. This is the unfortunate reality. And then 20 is across the whole country,” he said. “Judiciary is understaffed at the country level as a whole. Imagine it might be around 90 something from president to the last person—the number is too small.”

He explained that the Bar Association does not deploy lawyers, as advocates are free to choose where they practice, but said conditions outside the capital discourage many from working in other states.

“We give them the license; they choose where to practice, but we can create a conducive environment to encourage them to go and practice in the other states,” Malueth said.

Malueth also linked the shortage of legal services to broader issues of unemployment and limited government investment in the justice sector.

“The government is not employing, the government is not trying to address employment issues, and it is not making legal service available to the people. That is very challenging,” he said.

The Bar Association is now calling on the government to increase funding to the judiciary to improve staffing levels and strengthen its independence.

“We are calling on government to allocate enough resources to the judiciary because having enough resources helps it to be independent and deliver justice to the people,” he said. “When the judiciary is fully independent, well-resourced, and well-staffed, citizens will be able to access quality legal services.”