South Sudan: Hybrid Court Suggested for South Sudan

More than 50 members of the US Congress including the co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Sudan and South Sudan are asking Secretary of State John Kerry for action in South Sudan.

In March, they sent him a letter asking him to expand humanitarian programs and to help support some form of accountability to those behind mass killings and other human rights violations. One of their suggestions was a hybrid court, similar to those used in Sierra Leone, Kosovo, East Timor and Cambodia.

David Deng says the idea is gaining ground in the country's intellectual circles and NGO's and other international partners.

Deng, who is the research director for the South Sudan Law Society based in Juba, said now's the time to be talking about creating a special court- an acknowledgement of the scale of the crimes that have taken place since December.

That's when fighting broke out between armed supporters of President Salva Kiir and his former vice president, Riek Machar. The violence has displaced over 800 thousand people and forced to over 250 thousand to flee the country. Tens of thousands have been killed.

Weaknesses of domestic courts

A hybrid court would combine international and domestic law, with trained staff including investigators, lawyers and judges. Because of the expense, Deng said they would be limited to trying the top dozen or so leaders on both sides of the conflict involved in the killings.

The court could also adjudicate crimes as defined by the national penal code, like those related to the destruction of property or murders which don't rise to the level of international crimes.

Deng said there are many reasons for considering a hybrid court. He said the formal, or statutory, court system has serious weaknesses and is only accessible to populations in urban areas.

And, customary courts, which are far more accessible, do not have the capacity or jurisdiction to adjudicate serious criminal matters.

"When we talk about international crimes, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, war crimes," said Deng, "these are clearly outside the scope of what the customary system can handle. Even the smaller scale conflicts between communities that have proliferated in many parts of South Sudan over the past 10 years are outside the scope of the customary system. "