The Foundation conducts workshop for the Transitional National Legislative Assembly
On 24 and 25 September 2021, the Max Planck Foundation delivered a second workshop for members of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) in Juba, South Sudan. The two-day workshop entitled, “Constitutional Foundations on the Role of Parliament”, was conducted within the framework of the European Union-funded project, “Strengthening the Rule of Law in South Sudan”.
The workshop was officially opened on 24 September by the First Deputy Speaker of the TNLA, the Right Honourable Nathaniel Oyet. Opening remarks were also made by the Head of the Political Affairs Section of the European Union Delegation to South Sudan, Mr Dionyz Hochel, and one of the Foundation’s Managing Directors.
The First Deputy Speaker, in his opening remarks, thanked the European Union and the Foundation for their support in providing training on the TNLA’s Conduct of Business Regulations for the second batch of Parliamentarians. He noted that a strong and effective legislative branch of government was necessary in ensuring the full implementation of the 2018 Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS).
The substantive portion of the workshop comprised of sessions delivered by Foundation research fellows, which covered a range of theoretical and practical topics including an introduction to the legislative branch of government, the institutional design of parliaments, the substantive powers of parliaments, and the institutional and procedural regulations found within the Conduct of Business Regulations of the TNLA. The final session was jointly delivered by a senior Member of Parliament, Hon. Gatwech Lam Puoch, and the First Deputy Speaker. While Hon. Gatwech Lam Puoch shared practical lessons with the new parliamentarians based on his experience as a legislator in South Sudan, the Hon. First Deputy Speaker presented on the amendments to the Transitional Constitution of South Sudan that have been passed since 2011.
The workshop was officially closed by the First Deputy Speaker of the TNLA, Hon. Nathaniel Oyet, who reiterated the TNLA’s gratitude to the Foundation and to the European Union for their support in equipping parliamentarians with the necessary skills for the effective discharge of their mandate.