Criminal
A 2008 penal code, with a hybrid court for conflict crimes still not established
The Penal Code Act 2008 and Code of Criminal Procedure 2008 govern. Chapter V of the 2018 peace agreement provided for a Hybrid Court for South Sudan with the African Union, which has not been established.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — National courts plus customary courts for minor matters; military courts for the organised forces.
Governing law
- Penal Code Act 2008
- Code of Criminal Procedure Act 2008
- R-ARCSS 2018, Chapter V — Hybrid Court, Truth Commission, Compensation Authority
In practice
The 2008 codes are common-law derived and conventional in structure, retaining the death penalty, which South Sudan continues to apply. The significant unfinished business is accountability for conflict-related crimes. Chapter V of the 2018 agreement committed the parties to three mechanisms — a Hybrid Court to be established with the African Union, a Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing, and a Compensation and Reparation Authority — and the Hybrid Court in particular has not been set up despite repeated commitments, while extensive documentation of atrocities by UN and AU bodies has accumulated. Customary courts handle a large volume of minor criminal matters, and their jurisdiction over serious offences is formally excluded but practically blurred where statutory courts are absent. Prison and detention conditions and the availability of defence counsel are documented as severely inadequate.