The Foundation provides training on Terminology and Citation in Judgment Writing
On 22 and 23 September 2021, Max Planck Foundation research fellows successfully trained 35 judicial officers, including Justices and Judges from various courts, from across South Sudan. This two-day workshop, which was conducted in Juba, was funded by the European Union within the framework of the project “Strengthening the Rule of Law in South Sudan”.
The workshop was opened by the Chief Justice of South Sudan, Justice Chan Reec Madut, the Head of Cooperation at the European Union Delegation to South Sudan, Mr Wim Vandenbroucke, and the Head of Sub-Saharan Africa Projects at the Foundation. The Deputy Chief Justice of South Sudan, Hon. Justice John Gatwech Lul, and the Director of Training at the Judiciary, Justice Benjamin Baak Deng were also present at the opening ceremony.
In his opening remarks, the Chief Justice of South Sudan noted that the need for training on terminology, citation, and judgment writing was raised by the Judiciary itself, having regard to common problems identified during the development of the South Sudan Law Reports, for which the Foundation is also providing technical assistance. He further noted that trainings such as this were necessary to strengthen the common law system which South Sudan adopted after independence.
The workshop was designed as a forum to develop common rules on citation and terminology, and consequently comprised sessions on topics including structure of a judgment, judgment writing style, the identification of unique terminology and their use in judgments, considerations relating to citation, and comparative examples of citation format systems in selected common law countries. The workshop ended with a practical session for the design of a citation format system in South Sudan. The workshop was officially closed by the Deputy Chief Justice of South Sudan, Justice John Gatwech Lul. Justice John Gatwech Lul congratulated the Foundation on behalf of the Judiciary of South Sudan for the successful conduct of this workshop.