Cablegate: Southern Sudan: Chief Justice Lays Out Judicial

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PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #2158/01 2501457
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 071457Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4446
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 002158

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV SOCI PINR SU
SUBJECT: Southern Sudan: Chief Justice Lays Out Judicial
Structures

1. Summary: Southern Sudan Chief Justice Ambrose Riing Thiik
described the structure of the Southern Courts and said that the
system was beginning to operate throughout the South. However, with
little money and few qualified personnel, he admitted it was slow
going. In a meeting with the Acting Consul General (A/CG) on August
21, Riing described a hierarchical, seven-tiered structure starting
with two levels of traditional lay courts and ending with the
Supreme Court of Southern Sudan as the final court of appeal. The
courts are now established, with the last, the Court of Appeals,
founded in August. Now, the judiciary is working to attract
qualified candidates, including women, and sensitizing judges to the
issues of minority, women's, and human rights. End Summary.

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From Village Chief to Chief Justice in 7 Easy Steps
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2. The first court for traditional issues is the Executive Chief's
Court, which consists of three village elders and a jurisdiction
that matches the chief's territory. According to Southern Sudanese
law, at least one of the judges must be a woman, but Riing admitted
that this requirement has not yet been met anywhere. These courts,
basically providing a binding arbitration mechanism, are functioning
and handle the vast majority of legal issues. The court of appeal
for the Executive Chief's Court is the Regional or Boma Court. With
five members drawn from the Executive Courts, it can review the
lower court's decision and ensure it meets the standards of
traditional practice.

3. The next court of appeal is the Payam Court, bridging customary
and common-law justice. The three lay judges are the first to rule
on violations of the penal code, and they review traditional cases
that come rising from lower courts. Riing hopes that eventually all
three judges on the Payam Court will be paralegals or even lawyers,
but at present the standard is for the chairman to have had some
form of formal education. This court is the first level with power
of imprisonment.

4. Appeals from the Payam Court go to the County Court, which is
divided into three grades. This court is run by legal professionals
and makes its decisions based exclusively upon the English common
law system. After the County Court is the State Court. Capital
cases go directly to the State Court, although the County Court
performs the magisterial inquiries and prepares capital cases for
the State judges.

5. Any case on appeal from the State Court would go to one of three
Courts of Appeal, roughly equivalent to a U.S. Federal Circuit
Court. There are three courts of appeal covering each of the three
regions of Southern Sudan: Bahr al-Ghazal, Equatoria, and Upper
Nile. Each Court of Appeal has three judges, and will eventually
have a fourth judge as an alternate once there are enough qualified
officials. These judges were appointed on July 24 and took office
on August 15. Finally, the highest court in the South is the
Supreme Court, with seven justices. This court, rather than the
national Supreme Court in Khartoum, serves as the court of final
appeal.

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Capacity Building: Human Rights and Personnel
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6. The A/CG asked the Chief Justice how the judiciary would ensure
the standards of human rights and gender equality are met by the
traditional courts, whose decisions are based upon customary laws
that often are not sensitive to these issues. Also, because the
traditional courts use customary laws for individuals of their own
ethnic groups, the A/CG pointed out that people from minority groups
and internally displaced people are often disadvantaged. Riing
admitted that these are legitimate issues, but explained that the
judiciary is already taking steps to address them. He said that as
early as 2000, the SPLM began human rights training for its judges
in SPLM-controlled areas. With respect to progress, Riing
highlighted the as-yet-unfulfilled law requiring women on Executive
Courts, and the fact that there 15 women judges in the County Courts
and two women on higher courts.

7. Ring also explained that because traditional courts are based
upon local practice, they are heavily influenced by precedence.
Riing described a 2004 child redemption case in Rumbek where he
organized a meeting of chiefs that decided to overturn change local
custom in the interest of gender rights. The case involved a man
who refused to marry a woman carrying his child. The woman married
another man and they raised the child, a daughter. When the girl
turned 15, the man reappeared and demanded custody of the daughter,
who now had value as she would be expected to receive a dowry upon
marriage. The chiefs ruled that the man had no right to the
daughter because he had ample opportunity to claim her earlier. The
custom was changed to require a man to claim a daughter as soon as
he learns of her, or before 10 years of age, whichever comes first.
This was the first instance of traditional law changing to limit the
rights of a father to redeem a daughter.

KHARTOUM 00002158 002 OF 002

8. Riing said that protecting the rights of minorities and varying
ethnicities would be more difficult. In urban areas, he said that
the Executive Courts reflect regional ethnic diversity. In other
cases, the penal appeals court could review any traditional court
cases to ensure the decision was in line with "justice, equality,
and good conscience."

9. Riing said that the biggest problem facing the courts was human
resources. While judges had been appointed at all levels, most had
little or no staff. The government currently is sending individuals
to Kenya and Uganda, including participating in a 9-month course at
a Ugandan law development center, to train qualified candidates.
Riing also expressed interest in possible exchanges with the U.S.
He said the situation was not as dire as some had said, because the
University of Cairo in Khartoum trained students, like him, in
common law until the National Islamic Front closed the University
after it took power in 1989.

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Bio Note
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10. Ambrose Riing Thiik is a Dinka from Gogrial East in the
northern part of Bahr al-Ghazal. He graduated in law from the
University of Cairo in Khartoum in 1966 and received a master's
degree in law in England. After serving on the Court of Appeals in
1972, Riing entered politics and served as the Minister of
Information and Culture in the first Southern Government, as well as
a Member of the Southern Parliament with the ruling Sudan Socialist
Union Party. In the early 1980s, he was a political prisoner in
Akobo for nine months, where he was visited by John Garang, who
described his plans for rebellion and recruited Riing into the SPLM.
After he was released, Riing moved to England, where he organized
the UK branch of the Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission
(SRRC) and raised money for the SPLM. In 1994, he was put in charge
of legal affairs for the SPLM, but refused the position of Chief
Justice. HE finally accepted the post of Chief Justice for the SPLM
in 1999 and was appointed as Chief Justice for the Judiciary of
Southern Sudan in December 2005. Riing's family still lives in
England.

HUME

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