Sudan judicial body moves to reinstate top court

July 31, 2025 (PORT SUDAN) – Sudan’s judicial service commission on Thursday recommended to the Sovereign Council that the country’s Constitutional Court be reinstated, a move that could restore the top judicial body after more than five years of inactivity.

The recommendation followed an emergency meeting of the commission in Port Sudan, the Red Sea state city now serving as Sudan’s temporary administrative capital, the state news agency SUNA reported.

The term of the last Constitutional Court expired in January 2020, and new judges were not appointed amid the country’s political turmoil. A constitutional document issued after the 2019 overthrow of Omer al-Bashir stipulated the formation of the court by a High Judicial Council that was never established.

According to SUNA, the commission’s meeting was chaired by Chief Justice Fath al-Rahman Abdin and attended by high-level officials, including Minister of Justice Abdalla Drif and Minister of Finance Jibril Ibrahim.

The National Judicial Service Commission is responsible for recommending the appointment of Constitutional Court judges, as well as the Chief Justice and Supreme Court judges.

Under Sudan’s 2005 constitution, the nine judges of the Constitutional Court are appointed by the head of state based on a recommendation from the commission, with each judge serving a seven-year term that can be renewed.