Speaking at the official launch of the JRC on Thursday July 28, 2022, RJMEC Interim Chairperson Amb. Maj. Gen. Charles Tai Gituai said: 

“As a committee mandated to study and recommend appropriate judicial reforms to the Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity (RTGoNU), the work of the JRC will lay a firm foundation for the future of the Judiciary in the Republic of South Sudan.”

“The Judiciary is an important third arm of government, and an effective, independent, and impartial judiciary is sine quo non for lasting peace, stability and democratization,” he said. 

“Despite the slow pace and delays in the implementation of the Peace Agreement generally, the launch of the JRC today, is very timely. It comes on the heels of the enactment of the Constitution Making Process Bill by the Parliament and the ongoing National Constitutional Amendment Committee review of the National Elections Act,” he said.  

He added, “It also comes at a time when the RTGoNU is developing a roadmap for the implementation of all critical pending tasks towards credible elections at the end of the Transitional Period.”

“I strongly believe that the RTGoNU will factor the work of the JRC into the roadmap and that they will be afforded sufficient time to execute their tasks. The JRC report and recommendations will be taken on board by the RTGoNU to ensure that the judiciary is reformed before the end of the Transitional Period.”

Amb. Gituai appealed full support for the JRC so as to carry out its mandate as stipulated in the revitalized peace agreement. “We must all lend our support politically, technically, and of course financially for the JRC to do its work within the stipulated timelines,” he said.  

I believe that the key reforms that will be recommended by the JRC, will get prioritized in the RTNLA. The JRC is chaired Justice James Ogoola (Uganda), duputised by Lady Justice Joyce Alouch (Kenya).