Southern Sudan: Justice Ministry Sets Agenda

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000367 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV ASEC SU SUBJECT: Southern Sudan: Justice Ministry Sets Agenda ¶1. SUMMARY: The Ministry for Legal Affairs will address the full range of rule of law issues, with a focus on regulating southern lawyers, and on writing, disseminating, and prosecuting the laws passed by the Southern Legislative Assembly. In a meeting on February 9, Dr. William Kon Bior, Under Secretary for Justice in the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS),explained that the south faces an acute shortage of lawyers because most Sudanese practice Sharia law in Arabic. Kon laid out a program to send Sharia-trained lawyers to neighboring countries for 15-month conversion courses. He also discussed plans to establish a training institute to teach Southern Sudanese law to lawyers trained abroad and prepare them for the bar exam. In discussing the justice system, he said that 90 percent of legal cases would be handled by the customary courts, with regular courts handling commercial contracts and constitutional issues. End Summary. -------------- The Structure of the Ministry -------------- ¶2. Directorates within the Ministry of Legal Affairs and Constitutional Development will include the Prosecutor General's Office, the Auditor General's Office, the Legislation Directorate, the Directorate for Research and Training, and separate directorates for contract law (including contract registration) and coordination of customary law. The Attorney General, now independent, will be brought in soon. ¶3. The Legislative Directorate will be responsible for drafting laws to present to the Southern Legislative Assembly. The first set of laws they plan to draft will cover elections and commercial transactions, taxes, procurement, and financial regulation. Once the assembly convenes this March, they will also review the 43 laws previously passed by the SPLM. -------------- Most Cases Resolved by Chiefs -------------- ¶4. Kon explained that 90 percent of legal cases would be handled by the local chiefs. Executive Chief Courts, with one area chief appointed as judge, will resolve most cases, including criminal cases, using traditional guidelines in a process similar to binding arbitration. In the few cases, expected to be less than 5 percent, that the executive chief fails to reach a decision, or makes a decision that is contrary to the law or traditional practice, the aggrieved party can appeal to the Regional Chiefs Court, a panel of 3 executive chiefs. This is the final court of appeal for cases that go before customary courts. Commercial law and constitutional issues will be handled by a separate common law court system. ¶5. POLOFF asked how the government would safeguard human rights, particularly the rights of women, within the context of the customary courts. Kon said that it plans on sensitizing chiefs to these issues, but that true protection of minority rights and women's rights must come from internal societal changes. Once the society accepts the importance of protecting these rights, the decisions of the chief will reflect this. -------------- Training Southern Lawyers -------------- ¶6. Kon expressed concern over the shortage of lawyers in Southern Sudan. Most Sudanese lawyers have been trained to practice Sharia law in Arabic, so Kon estimated that there were currently only about 23 lawyers qualified to practice law in the south. Most of these lawyers already work for the Government of National Unity (GNU). Kon will try to recruit these lawyers to work for the GoSS Ministry of Legal Affairs, which has an immediate need for 90 qualified lawyers, one in each of the 10 states and 80 counties. ¶7. The Ministry plans on resolving the lawyer deficit by focusing on two groups: Sudanese lawyers trained in Sharia law and lawyers trained abroad in common law. For those trained in Sharia, the GoSS is setting up 15-month programs in Kenya and Uganda that includes 6 months of English training and 9 months of training in common law. For lawyers trained in the common law overseas, the Ministry plans on establishing an Institute for Legal Studies. This institute will prepare foreign lawyers for the southern bar exam. Additionally, the institute will KHARTOUM 00000367 002 OF 002 offer courses in several specialized fields including corporate registration, patent law, and property rights. When necessary, the GoSS will also send lawyers abroad for specific degrees. ¶8. Kon welcomed international expertise in setting up the institute and the conversion programs. He cautioned, however, that he sees little use in short training seminars. He said that the GoSS needed train-the-trainer programs and other approaches that build capacity and reduce dependence on future assistance. ¶9. Bio Note: Kon first studied law at the University of Khartoum and then worked for the Attorney General of Sudan. He holds three advanced law degrees and a PhD from different English universities. A Bor Dinka, Kon claims to be a founding member of the SPLM/A. He worked with Michael Makuai as a legal advisor throughout the war. HUME