Attorney General and Speaker of the Transitional Assembly of South Sudan revoke the nomination of nine Members to EALA
East African Court of Justice; Arusha, Tanzania; 16 June 2017:
The First Instance Division heard an inter parties Application file by Wani Santido from the Republic of South Sudan against the Attorney General of the Republic of South Sudan, the Speaker of the Parliament of South Sudan and the Secretary General of the East African Community on 15th June 2017.
He was seeking court order to restrain the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) from administering the oath of office, or otherwise recognizing nominees from the Republic of South Sudan.
The Applicant represented by Donald Deya withdrew the Application after the consent by the Representatives of the Attorney General of South Sudan (1st Respondent) and the Speaker of the Transitional Legislative Assembly of the same (2nd Respondent). The two Respondents revoked the nomination of the nine (9) members to East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) as indicated in Resolution No. 04/2017, dated 13th June 2017 and adopted by the Transitional National Legislative Assembly of the government of South Sudan.
The 1st and 2nd Respondent also committed that they will hold fresh election which will meet the requirements of Article 50 of the Treaty for the establishment of the East African Community. The Secretary General of EAC 3rd Respondent aslo committed to provide a concise legal opinion and otherwise assist the 1st & 2nd Respondents to the best of his ability to abide by the requirements of the Treaty.
On 5th June 2017, the Court granted an interim Ex- parte order pending hearing of the Inter parties’ application. committed that they will hold fresh election that will meet the requirements of Article 50 of the Treaty for the establishment of the East African Community. The Secretary General of EAC will provide a concise legal opinion and otherwise assist the 1st & 2nd Respondents to the best of his ability to abide by the requirements of the Treaty. After they reached this consent the Applicant withdrew the Application which had been eariler filed to Court seeking the Court's order restraining the East African Legislative Assembly from administering the oath of office, or otherwise recognising nominees from the Republic of South Sudan. On 5th June 2017, the Court granted an interim Ex- parte order pending hearing of the Inter partes application today. The Applicant is called Wani Santido Jada . committed that they will hold fresh election that will meet the requirements of Article 50 of the Treaty for the establishment of the East African Community. The Secretary General of EAC will provide a concise legal opinion and otherwise assist the 1st & 2nd Respondents to the best of his ability to abide by the requirements of the Treaty. After they reached this consent the Applicant withdrew the Application which had been eariler filed to Court seeking the Court's order restraining the East African Legislative Assembly from administering the oath of office, or otherwise recognising nominees from the Republic of South Sudan. On 5th June 2017, the Court granted an interim Ex- parte order pending hearing of the Inter partes application today. The Applicant is called Wani Santido Jada .Mr. Wani Santino Jada who represented himself in Court at the ex parte hearing said that on or about the 11th March 2017, His Excellency the President of the Republic of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, appointed nine (9) persons to represent the said Partner State in EALA which was in violation of Article 50 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community. The swearing-in of EALA MPs that was due to take place on 5th June 2017 was postponed by the Assembly until further notice.
Both the Applicants and the Respondents have jointly applied for adjournment of the hearing of the main Reference which was scheduled for next week Wednesday 21st June 2017, until the elections have been held. The Applicant went ahead and submitted that, they got assurance from the 1st and 2nd Respondents that they will hold elections possibly next week.
The Court accepted the consent by the Respondents and allowed to be filed in the Registry.
The Representatives for the Respondents were Mr. James Mayen Oka for the Attorney General, under the Secretary of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Mr. Alalla Younis Said Loro, Clerk of Assembly Transitional National Legislative Assembly South Sudan, Ms. Florence Ochago Principal Legal Officer and Brenda Ntihinyurwa Legal expert for the Secretary General EAC. The Applicant was also present in Court.
The matter was before a bench of the First Instance Division of the Court comprised of Justices Monica Mugenyi, (Principal Judge); Isaac Lenaola, (Deputy Principal Judge); Faustin Ntezilyayo, Judge; Fakihi Jundu, Judge and Audace Ngiye, Judge
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Notes to Editor:
Article 50 (Election of Members of the Assembly)
The National Assembly of each Partner States shall elect, not from among its members, nine members of the Assembly, who shall represent as much as it is feasible, the various political parties represented in the National Assembly, shades of opinion, gender and other special interest groups in that Partner State, in accordance with such procedure as the National Assembly of each Partner State may determine.
For more information, please contact:
Yufnalis Okubo, Registrar,
East African Court of Justice.
Tel: 255-27-2162149
Email Okubo [at] eachq.org
East African Court of Justice
Arusha, Tanzania
http://www.eacj.org
About the East African Court of Justice:
The East African Court of Justice (EACJ or ‘the Court’), is one of the organs of the East African Community established under Article 9 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community. Established in November 2001, the Court’s major responsibility is to ensure the adherence to law in the interpretation and application of and compliance with the EAC Treaty.
Arusha is the temporary seat of the Court until the Summit determines its permanent seat. The Court’s sub-registries are located in the respective National Courts in the Partner States.