The Max Planck Foundation conducted its third workshop in a series of workshops on “The Role of the Judiciary in Elections” for the Judiciary of South Sudan from 22 to 24 May 2024 in Juba, South Sudan. This workshop follows the first two workshops conducted on this topic by the Foundation in September and October 2023. The workshop gathered 30 Judges from across South Sudan including Juba, Wau, Renk, Aweil, Yirol, Kuajok, Tonj, Rumbek, and Bor.
During the opening ceremony, Mr. Lothar Jaschke, Deputy Ambassador, gave his remarks on behalf of the European Union Delegation to South Sudan, after which Hon. Justice Dr. Benjamin Baak Deng, Director of Training of the Judiciary of South Sudan officially opened the workshop.
Over the three days, the workshop participants engaged in lively discussions on the role that the Judiciary plays in electoral dispute settlement based on the relevant South Sudanese constitutional and electoral legal framework. During the first day of the workshop, participants discussed the concept of free, fair and democratic elections and examined the past and current legal framework applicable to elections in South Sudan. Subsequently, several sessions were dedicated to electoral dispute settlement during the pre-electoral, electoral and post-electoral phases, both in South Sudan and comparative countries in the East African Community region and beyond. On the last day of the workshop, participants were invited to reflect in case studies on questions pertaining to electoral disputes.
The workshop was conducted in the framework of the project ‘Supporting Constitution-Making, Legal Harmonisation and Judicial Reform in South Sudan’, which is being implemented with the generous financial assistance of the European Union.