Max Planck Foundation begins workshop series supporting transitional justice capacities
On 20–21 and 24–25 October 2016, the Max Planck Foundation, in cooperation with the Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal of South Sudan, delivered the first workshop in a project designed to support the transitional justice capacities of the Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal of South Sudan. Under this three-component project, the Max Planck Foundation will provide technical assistance and capacity building to the Courts in readiness for their participation in the transitional justice mechanisms outlined in the Compromise Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (IGAD-Plus Agreement). The workshop took place in Juba, South Sudan.
This first workshop entitled “Introduction to Transitional Justice” was delivered by two representatives of the Max Planck Foundation. The workshop introduced the justices of both Courts to the international law underpinnings of transitional justice, in particular: the sources of international law and its subjects, regional perspectives on international law, the branches and sources of law of relevance to transitional justice, and the protection of the individual in international humanitarian law. The workshop concluded with an introduction to transitional justice, with a comparative review of the application of various mechanisms of transitional justice in case-study countries. The aim of this workshop was, therefore, to facilitate a comprehensive introduction to the topic of transitional justice.
The workshop was inaugurated by the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to South Sudan, Mr. Johannes Lehne, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Sudan, Justice Chan Reec Madut, and the Head of the Sub-Saharan Africa team of the Max Planck Foundation for International Peace and the Rule of Law. The workshop marks the beginning of the project on “Supporting Transitional Justice Capacities in South Sudan”, which is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office and implemented by the Max Planck Foundation.