By William Madouk
The European Union has delivered close to 20,000 meant for strengthening access to legislations and acquiring knowledge on legal procedures and references to justice.
The 12,278 printed copies of the national legislation booklets and 7,600 copies of criminal forms were handed to the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs yesterday.
During the handover occasion, EU Ambassador to South Sudan, Timo Olkkonen said the printed documents was to support the Ministry of Justice, government institutions and all members of public to have access to legislations.
The printed legislations and legal forms were funded by Max Planck Foundation.
“We are here today at the Ministry of Justice to hand over printed legislations and legal forms that have been produced with the support of EU and Max Planck Foundation. It is for the benefit of the Ministry and the South Sudanese public at large. These leaflets will help improve access to procedures of legislations and access to justice,” Olkkonen explained.
“This will help the people of South Sudan be more aware of their rights, and indeed the authorities would be able to also have relevant information at hand in order to make sure that people enjoy their legal right,” he added.
The EU envoy stressed that legal forms are vital because it would allow police to document the criminal cases.
“For example, if there is a criminal activity suspected, one can go and report it to police. Everything will be filled in the forms, unlike in the rudimentary ways. So, it is more about general access to justice for the population,” he said.
He added that hopefully in the near future, another batch of documentations will be printed and handed over.
“Our plan is to continue with our engagement for some years to come, just as we have been supporting the Ministry of Justice since 2017.
On his behalf, the Minister of Justice, Ruben Madol Arol said the legislations documentations mark the beginning of reforms. He urged the public to access the national legislations booklets and the criminal forms through his office.
“I believe that these 20,000 pieces of some of our laws and the legal forms mark the beginning of the reforms in the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs,” Arol commented.
Minister Arol stated that it is the mandate of his ministry to make those legislations available to the public but logistical hardship made it impossible.
He however assured the people that documents are available, and the public should care to access them through the Ministry of Justice.
He further appreciated the partners especially the European Union, Max Planck Foundation, and UNDP for their continuous support to the Ministry of Justice.
Minister Arol warned against the misuse of the key documents – asserting that they are only meant for legal knowledge and not otherwise.
All legislations and legal forms used to be printed in Germany which is very costly but luckily this consignment was printed in Juba through Zach print & design company – a national firm operating in capital, Juba.
Deng Zachariah Dhum, the managing director of Zach firm, said they produced a high-quality publication work. According to him, his company printed 19,500 legislations and 25,000 legal forms.
Among legislation handed over are; Anti-money laundering and counter terrorist Financing Act, 2012, the civil procedure Act 2007, the civil service pension scheme Act 2018, code of evidence Act 2006.
It also includes; the contract Act 2008, penal code Act 2008, media authority Act 2013, form N*10 (a) warrant of search for specified items, form N*1 summon to an accused person, and form N*2 summons to a witness just to mention but a few.