Taking Stock of Judicial Independence Challenges in South Sudan
Publication Summary
This Brief assesses the challenges facing South Sudan’s Judiciary and the recent mass promotion of judges. The main challenges facing the Judiciary include capacity deficits, limited resources, and political interference. Political interference has manifested in various forms. For example, Judges have been removed from office without following the constitutional and legal procedures, as can be seen in the recent cases of Chief Justice Chan Reec Madut and Deputy Chief Justice John Gatwech Lul. Judges also face threats to their lives from the members of the executive branch and the military for not deciding cases in their favour. The mass promotion equally raises serious concerns. One is the uncertainty around the criteria used for promotion. Another is that the promotion did not take account of the gender balance as those promoted are predominantly males. Thus, these promotions disregarded the constitutionally mandated affirmative action. Broadly, political interference undermines judicial independence and the rule of law, making it impossible for judges to administer justice properly in South Sudan.
Mark A. W. Deng is a McKenze Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Melbourne Law School, the University of Melbourne, Australia, where he previously served as a Co-convenor of weekly seminars at the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies. He obtained his PhD from the University of Queensland in 2021. His research intersects the South Sudanese public law, customary law & practices and human rights. His work has been published in reputable international journals such as the International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family (Oxford University Press) and African Human Rights Law Journal (Pretoria University Law Press). His recent major work is a book on South Sudan’s constitutional law: Emerging Constitutionalism in South Sudan: Challenges and Opportunities (Hart Publishing 2025). Dr Deng’s work has also appeared in leading news outlets, including The Conversation–Africa where it has been read by thousands of people from around the world. He has presented his work at international public law annual conferences, particularly the International Society of Public Law and The Stellenbosch Annual Seminar on Constitutionalism in Africa. He has also given media interviews to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and the Sky News Australia.