By Deng Ghai Deng
First Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar Teny, has commended the Judicial Reform Committee (JRC) for its significant strides in finalizing a report on reforms.
This came during the opening of a three-day Validation Workshop that runs from October 23 to 25, 2024 in Juba.
The workshop, attended by key figures including Vice-President for the Economic Cluster, Dr. James Wani Igga and Vice-President for the Service Cluster, Abdelbaggi Akol, aims to validate the JRC report.
Participants will share findings and recommendations with stakeholders and the public, enabling the JRC to incorporate valuable feedback into its final report.
Addressing attendees, Machar emphasized the critical nature of the report, originally due in February 2023, as part of the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement.
He emphasized the importance of the reforms in strengthening the judicial system and ensuring justice for all citizens, highlighting the workshop as a crucial step in the reform process.
“When we were debating whether we should go for election [JRC report] was one of the key issues of which we said without the JRC report we will miss a lot because I believe the report will not only influence the judiciary, it will also influence other aspects; the work of the ministry of Federal Affairs, the work of the National Constitutional Review Commission, it will also influence our thinking on how to carry along the customary law which is the most prevalent in the country,” Machar remarked.
Ruben Madol Arol, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, echoed Machar’s sentiments, stressing that judicial reform is a key requirement for implementing the peace agreement.
“This day is very important to us because it’s about the implementation of the provisions of the agreement, more importantly, we are about to close a chapter on one of the most important requirements in the agreement, judicial reform. Reform of the judiciary is at the heart of the reform of the whole rule of law sector and therefore having struggled for more than 2 years, yet here we are now realizing the last stages of the work of JRC, validation of their report and their recommendations. This is coming particularly as we are about to start, the second extension of the transitional period,” Madol stated.
On July 28, 2022, the government established the ad hoc Judicial Reform Committee (JRC).
The JRC is responsible for the review of pertinent laws, the provision of advice on judicial reforms, and the restructuring of the judiciary to improve its efficiency.