A/HRC/40/CRP.1 3. Uneven Geographic Access to Justice There are approximately 145 public prosecutors, 165 judges and 1,150 defence lawyers in South Sudan. However, the majority of South Sudan’s lawyers and judges are concentrated in Juba, and play only a limited role in courts outside of the capital. While many towns outside Juba have judges appointed to their courts, many of these appointed judges in fact reside in Juba, making them unavailable to hear cases in their appointed courts. This is the case, for example, in Malakal where the appointed High Court judge resides in Juba. Similarly, a recent UNMISS Rule of Law Advisory Section assessment in Bor found that the newly appointed High Court Judge had returned to Juba and it was unclear when he would be returning. This left Bor with only two second-grade county judges available.1540 The availability of justice sector resources is even more sparse outside of State capitals. When the Commission inquired with one State official in Bentiu about what measures had been taken to pursue accountability in relation to the serious crimes committed in southern Unity State in 2018, he responded that there were no judges available but that some measures were being taken to bring perpetrators before customary courts. 1541 This widespread recourse to customary courts to fill the gap in the formal justice sector has its own problems. Traditional courts themselves lack resources. For example, the traditional “Bench Court” in Bor, which has been attempting to fill the justice gap, itself lacks resources and does not have its own offices such that it hears cases sitting under a tree which, among other things, is not conducive to dealing with sensitive case involving vulnerable people.1542 Additionally, and more importantly, these traditional courts lack the legal authority to hear serious criminal cases. In addition to turning to traditional justice mechanisms, the lack of capacity in the statutory justice sector also results in civilian cases being tried by Court Martials. The Terrain trial, detailed below is one such example. While there is general acknowledgement that cases involving civilians should not be heard before military courts, there is a partial acceptance of it at present in recognition that it is currently a more efficiently operating system and may be the only access to justice victims have. In response to the lack of judicial resources outside of Juba, at the request of the national authorities, the UNMISS Rule of Law Advisory Section provided logistical support to bring a High Court judge from Renk to Malakal to constitute a mobile court in Malakal in October 2018. The mobile court’s primary purpose was to hear criminal cases arising out of the PoC site; however, while there, it also took the opportunity to hear a number of other criminal cases pending in Malakal. The mobile court operated for a week and tried five people charged with sexual violence crimes in the PoC site which resulted in convictions and sentences ranging from 18 months to 10 years. 1543 As a result of the success of the mobile court in Malakal, another mobile court deployed to Bentiu in mid-December 2018 and again late January 2019. Over the course of the December 2018 mobile court session in Bentiu, 16 cases were heard, resulting in eight convictions including five for rape. The January 2019 mobile in court session in Bentiu completed nine cases, resulting in six convictions, including one for rape of a minor.1544 This was the first time a court was opened in Bentiu in the past three and a half years.1545 While the focus of these mobile courts has been to facilitate the processing of cases arising from the PoC sites, this mobile court model has the promising potential to address some of the challenges of accessing justice in more remote areas where there are insufficient judicial resources if they could be deployed more widely. The Commission encourages the Government of South Sudan and UNMISS to continue to work together on this undertaking. 1540 UNMISS Rule of Law Advisor Section, Exploratory Mission to Bor, 6 November 2018, available on file with the Commission. Confidential Meeting, 4 October 2018. 1542 UNMISS Rule of Law Advisor Section, Exploratory Mission to Bor, 6 November 2018, available on file with the Commission. 1543 For cases arising out of the PoCs, the UNMISS Rule of Law Advisory Section liaises with national authorities to have cases heard within the domestic justice system and provides logistical support to the national authorities for these cases. In so doing, it ensures due process and human rights are respected, including ensuring that no accused is transferred to national authorities where charges are framed in such a way that the death penalty could be imposed, monitoring trials for fair trial rights, and inspecting prison conditions. 1544 UNMISS Rule of Law Advisory Section. 1545 Radio Miraya, “Mobile court opens in Bentiu after years of absence of justice systems”, 12 December 2018. 1541 195