A/HRC/21/34 B. Administration of justice and rule of law 22. One legacy of years of armed conflict and underdevelopment in South Sudan is a justice system that is weak, ineffective and inadequate. The shortage of professional police and qualified judges and lawyers across much of South Sudan, as well as lack of basic training, infrastructure, transport and equipment, severely affects the administration of justice. The scope of territorial coverage and jurisdiction of the formal justice system is narrow, and access to justice remains severely limited. The capacity of many institutions of Government to uphold the rule of law and to promote and protect human rights is weak. The traditional justice system, which covers more than 80 per cent of the country, mainly relies on customary and traditional practices that very often violate statutory provisions and international human rights standards. These chronic shortfalls adversely affect the delivery of justice, including due process rights and legal representation. 23. The death penalty remains in force in South Sudan; in 2011, at least six prisoners were executed even though they had not been legally represented by counsel. Access to legal aid is limited, and lawyers are not only expensive to retain, but too few in most areas. Weak prosecutorial capacity and an insufficient number of judges continue to result in widespread violations of human rights in the administration of justice, including perennial trial delays, excessive remands, prolonged pretrial detention and overcrowded prisons. 24. Largely as a result of an inadequately trained police force, arbitrary arrest and detention are widespread in South Sudan and commonly combined with other serious human rights violations, such as torture or other ill treatment of detainees and prolonged detention. Many people have been detained as a result of flawed arrests and prosecutions, or without any solid legal justification. A variety of State actors, including the police, military and security personnel, bear responsibility for these abuses. Interference by military and political figures in the justice system sometimes leads to arbitrary arrest and detention, as the police often act on instruction or under threat rather than in accordance with the law. Arrest and detention of family members in lieu of suspects remains a common practice, as is protective custody, imprisonment for non-payment of debts and prolonged pretrial detention. Children are sometimes tried and detained with adults, and are not offered rehabilitation programmes or sufficient educational opportunities in prison. In the absence of any psychiatric institutions in the country, people who show signs of mental instability are often sent to prison. Meanwhile, detention conditions across the country remain very poor, characterized by severely overcrowded and unhygienic cells and dilapidated infrastructures. 25. Impunity remains widespread in South Sudan, particularly among members of the security forces. SPLA members often refuse to submit to civilian authority. Human rights abuses are often not investigated and perpetrators are rarely identified and brought to justice. State security agents enjoy what often seems to be complete impunity for human rights violations, including arbitrary arrest and detention, ill treatment of detainees, sexual and gender-based violence, and violations of the right to life. 26. Of grave concern is the almost total lack of capacity to investigate and prosecute serious crimes committed in the context of inter-communal violence. Despite having established an investigation committee in the aftermath of the violence in Jonglei, the Government has yet to demonstrate that it is serious about holding accountable those responsible for such violence. Similarly, in March 2011, following a United Nations-led investigation, a committee was formed by the Government to investigate allegations of torture, rape and death of trainees at a police training academy outside Juba. The committee presented its findings and recommendations to the Government. To date, no further action has been taken to hold the perpetrators accountable. 7