Rule of Law

05/11/2013

Notes on the Rule of Law and access to justice Survey consultative meeting

The meeting kicked off at 10:21 in the Council of Ministers’ Hall. The acting Secretary General welcomed the Minister of Local Government, Hon. Diing Akol Diing to officially open the meeting. The minister appreciated UNDP and UNMISS For the surveys done and also reiterated the importance of any such survey.

The opening was following by the background to the survey which was given by UNDP’s Christopher.The survey was inspired by the desire to get to understand the perceptions of the citizens concerning the services delivered by the actors in the legal system.

The institutions on which opinion was sought are the police, prisons, judiciary of South Sudan, Ministry of Justice, Customary Law Courts, South Sudan Human Rights Commission, South Sudan Public Grievances Chamber, South Sudan Employees Justice Chamber, South Sudan Anti-Corruption Commission, Ministry of Gender, Social Development and Child Welfare and Department of Labour and Employees Relations.

The survey was based on five indicators which are: Accessibility to legal services, availability of legal services, adaptability, acceptability and confidence.

Methodology used in conducting the survey

UNDP contracted a consultancy firm to design questions after which they were submitted to the national statistics bureau. The bureau then provided demographic information.

Objectives of the survey

-To obtain people’s perception on the awareness of the availability and function of different actors in the justice system

-Determine the accessibility of justice structures

- Identify people’s needs and priorities

Key findings

The findings of the survey reflect people’s understanding of their right, their priorities and their perception on access to and confident in justice delivered.

Up to 28% of the people surveyed were well informed about their rights.

The people surveyed ranked their priorities as below:

81 %...