About 250 lawyers have returned to South Sudan from overseas. Mr. Awur says their skills are as mixed as those of members of the country’s legal systems. South Sudan is moving back to a common law system. The system was first established in Sudan during British colonial rule. Islamic law came to Sudan in the 1980s.
But more than 60 tribes are using differing customary laws. Mr. Awur says those systems treat half the population unfairly.
“A woman cannot inherit property of her husband or her father. But there are real, real issues for women, and laws -- the law is clear, the law is clear. The law is not taking chances with anybody. So we hope, through time, people will be enlightened to accept that reality that human beings are the same. The law is for everybody, the constitution is for everyone, and there is no bias. We don’t want any bias against or for anybody.”
Juba University has stopped teaching Sharia law. In the past, Sharia was one of its main subjects.
Victor Lowilla directs legal aid at the South Sudan Law Society. He says Sharia still influences current laws and must be removed.
Mr. Lowilla wants all of South Sudan’s laws to be re-examined. He wants to prevent chiefs from declaring strong sentences. And he calls for ending a number of cruel practices that continue under customary law. For example, a custom called “ghost marriages” forces women to marry dead men. This tradition calls for a young girl to be given as payment to the family of a murdered man.
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25