After two workshops held in October 2022 and February 2023, the Max Planck Foundation conducted a third and final workshop of this series on the topic of ‘Judicial Ethics’ in order to provide this important training to all Justices and Judges currently serving in South Sudan. The three-day workshop took place in Juba from 19 to 21 April 2023 and was implemented in cooperation with the Judiciary of South Sudan.
The official opening speech was delivered by the Rt Hon Chief Justice Chan Reec Madut, preceded by the speeches of the Head of the EU Delegation to South Sudan, HE Timo Olkkonen, the Director of Learning and Training for the Judiciary of South Sudan, Justice Dr Benjamin Baak Deng, and the Max Planck Foundation’s Head of South Sudan Projects.
Over the course of the three days, more than 30 Justices and Judges from all across South Sudan engaged in lively discussions on fundamental principles of judicial ethics. They did not only take an in-depth look at the existing Code of Judicial Ethics in South Sudan, but were also exposed to international standards of judicial ethics, mainly the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct, and a variety of comparative examples from different countries. This approach encouraged the participants to reflect on the existing legal framework in South Sudan and to deliberate potential amendments in view of the challenges faced in their daily work. The final day of the workshop provided the participants with case studies to practically apply the knowledge gained during the first two days.
This workshop was implemented with the generous financial assistance of the European Union within the framework of the project ‘Supporting Constitution-Making, Legal Harmonisation and Judicial Reform in South Sudan ‘.