The Max Planck Foundation conducted a third workshop for the Judicial Reform Committee (JRC) of South Sudan.
The workshop titled ‘The Structure of the Judiciary in Federal Systems of Government’, was facilitated by the Foundation’s representatives in Juba from 10-12 May 2023, within the framework of the European Union funded project ‘Supporting Constitution-Making, Legal Harmonisation and Judicial Reform in South Sudan ‘.
The workshop was officially opened by the Chairperson of the Judicial Reform Committee, Hon. Justice James Ogoola and one of the Managing Directors and Head of Sub-Saharan Africa Projects at the Foundation. The Deputy Chairperson of the Judicial Reform Committee, Hon. Lady Justice Joyce Aluoch, as well as representatives from IGAD were also present at the opening ceremony, along with the members of the Judicial Reform Committee of South Sudan and the Head of the JRC Secretariat, Lady Justice Anjonye Paya Perpetua.
On the first workshop day, the Foundation’s representatives delivered introductory presentations on general options for the design of judiciaries, followed by a presentation on the current structure of the judiciary in South Sudan. The workshop day ended with an introduction to the three main models of judiciaries prevalent in federal systems of government, namely, the dual court system, the unified court system, and the integrated court system. These three models were then discussed in detail on the second workshop day, by presenting several comparative examples from countries having adopted such systems. On the final day of the workshop, the Committee members had the opportunity to discuss these models in depth in two working sessions, specifically designed to invite reflections on which structure and model would in the future be suitable for South Sudan.
The workshop was officially closed by the Chairperson of the Judicial Reform Committee, Hon. Justice James Ogoola, who expressed his deep appreciation to the Foundation for conducting the workshop and to the European Union for its continued support to the Committee’s work.