South Sudan proposes establishing mobile courts
April 2,2012 (JUBA) – South Sudan said on Monday that it is forming mobile courts with a clear mandate to try cases in a bid to expand access to justice to the rural population and resolve long running disputes.
Justice Ruben Madol, a deputy chief justice, told reporters on Monday that taking legal services to the grassroots demonstrates commitment of the government to ensure consolidation of justice in the country so that the rule of law can flourish.
The senior judicial official said the significance of the development cannot be overemphasised, as the assurance of justice is fundamental in a free and democratic society.
“It is crucial in the maintenance of peace and progress, because the more the citizenry get access to justice; the better they will conduct themselves and direct their actions towards society’s advancement”.
“Once justice is guaranteed in any society, the people willingly participate in the affairs of the nation, take ownership of social institutions and manage them for the common good. This is in fact the reason why chief justice, Chan Reec Madut with the legal teams, has always been advocating for an effective and efficient legal system that will dispense justice in the build up to a more just and democratic society”, explained Justice Madol.
Madol explained that the establishment of the mobile courts would be a major step to strengthen South Sudan’s democratic process. South Sudan became independent last year as part of a 2005 peace deal.
“It has been tried in most countries of the world and since coming into being, given people the confidence to conduct their affairs, and a sense of responsibility, particularly in the service of the nation. Expanding access to our people would therefore complement efforts of the government to accelerate plans geared towards nurturing our democracy to bear fruits”.
He equally called on the people particularly those in the rural areas not to take advantage of the availability of the service in their regions to engage in dubious activities simply because there is free legal assistance for those who can’t afford a defense counsel.
“Rather, this is the time that they should come on board to support the concerted efforts being made towards establishing a just, decent and democratic society; a society where people are willing to substitute crime with discipline and hard work for a better service. They must continue to conduct their actions according to the dictates of the law”, he adds.
According to Justice Madol, a three member team will be assigned to each of South Sudan’s states for between 3 to 6 months depending on the size of the area.
The scheme is expected to require a lot of money as it will involve transport, communications and accommodation costs. Teams will be composed of trained lawyers and judges and will be autonomous from the traditional court system handles by local chiefs.
South Sudan’s judiciary was recently criticised by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) for the scale of fines slapped on two South Sudanese newspapers for allegedly defaming a senior member of the country’s ruling party in a corruption scandal.
CPJ said that the fines would deter journalists from further investigating corruption-related cases in the eight-month-old country.
(ST)