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South Sudanese legal system is identified as a pluralistic legal system in which African customary law applies alongside statutory law. The applicability of these two laws is based on the phrase that customary law should be applied in courts if it is not contrary to justice, equity and good conscience. Customary law is widely accepted in South Sudan and is referred to as the body of customs and traditions utilized by and unites the majority of citizens in their jurisdiction. Customary law, therefore, is a set of rules, regulations, norms and usages existing among South Sudanese communities since time immemorial. It is obligatory and is widely applied in the country. The South Sudanese dual justice system; formal courts and customary law courts apply concurrently in a parallel manner in both rural and urban centers. Bifurcated justice systems have colonial origins for colonial rule and establishment of social order among the colonized. Throughput history of South Sudan, there has been a limited prescribed interaction between the two justice systems. However, the current constitutional dispensation gives a huge room for interaction and both systems are recognized constitutionally. The customary justice system has been the primary source of social order and stability within the country, even though the formal courts and statutory laws have been in use in South Sudan from the Anglo-Egyptian colonization era. The customary justice system has, therefore, been cementing the togetherness of communities and tries and form a bridge between the many and varied tribal groups making up the population of the country. Customary laws vary from one community to the other but with similarity in customary laws, and as such, customary law courts function in similar ways. This forms the main reason why most dispute resolutions are overwhelmingly handled within local communities by tribal authorities under the customary justice system. |
