On Thursday 23 February 2023, the Supreme Court of South Sudan, in cooperation with the Max Planck Foundation, officially opened the first Law Library of the Judiciary of South Sudan in presence of the Chief Justice of South Sudan, Rt. Hon. Justice Chan Reec Madut, the Deputy Chief Justice of South Sudan, Hon. Justice Dr John Gatwech Lul, the Deputy Head of the European Union Delegation to South Sudan, Mr Dionyz Hochel, as well as other dignitaries, representatives of the international community, UNDP, and justices and judges from all levels of courts in South Sudan. The new Law Library has been installed at the premises of the Gender Based Violence and Juvenile (GBV) Court, which is located next to the Supreme Court in Juba.
The Foundation had pledged to support the Judiciary of South Sudan in creating a centre of knowledge where justices and judges as well as members of the legal fraternity could consult the latest legal literature and academic publications and the Foundation is proud to have contributed in supplying the library over the past five years with a wealth of specialised law books, updated academic literature as well as shelving equipment.
The Law Library of the Judiciary of South Sudan will improve the Judiciary’s legal infrastructure and help facilitate the work of the Judiciary and the members of the legal profession by increasing their access to relevant literary facilities and academic legal literature.
The opening of the library is the culmination of years of support provided by the Max Planck Foundation to the Judiciary of South Sudan for the improvement of its knowledge management in the framework of the project Strengthening the Rule of Law in South Sudan, which was generously funded by the European Union.