Amending the South Sudan’s Revitalized Peace Agreement: The Implications of the Extension and its Roadmap
Authors: Mading Gum Mading, Joseph Geng Akech, Peter Garang Geng
Type: Weekly Reviews
Date: 10/08/2022
Publication Summary
On 4 August 2022, the Parties to the Revitalized Peace Agreement agreed to extend the Transitional Period for 24 months. The Parties, led by the Council of Ministers, acted under article 8.4 of the Agreement which provides a three-stage procedure for amending the Agreement. The three stages include: (1) approval by two-thirds of the Council of Ministers, (2) consent by two-thirds of the members of the Revitalized Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission, and (3) ratification by the Transitional National Legislature. This Weekly Review discusses the implications of this extension and its proposed Roadmap. We argue that the government’s extension meets the first stage but fails short in the case of the last two for a valid amendment to be attained. We, however, contend that the Revitalized Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission’s (RJMEC) consent is only procedural, so skipping it does not render the changes invalid provided the parliament finally ratifies them.
Mading Gum is a constitutional lawyer and the managing partner for Mading & Co. Advocates. He is a law lecturer and head of Private Law Department at the School of Law of the University of Juba. He holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Juba, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Institute of Legal Practice and Development (ILPD, Rwanda), and a Master of Laws degree (LL.M) in Law, Governance and Democracy from the University of Nairobi School of Law. He is also a member of the South Sudan Bar Association.
Joseph Geng Akech is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Juba. He holds a Doctor of Laws (LLD) in constitutional law, and he has published widely in constitutional designs, human rights, and transitional justice. He may be reached on e-mail: josephgakech@gmail.com.
Peter Garang Geng is a practicing lawyer and an experienced humanitarian worker. He holds an LLM in international law, with concentration on human rights from Sharda University, India. His research interest focuses on the rule of law and governance, human rights and gender, and humanitarian law. He may be reached on e-mail: garanggengakot@gmail.com