South Sudanese lawyer Anuol Deng today announced the founding of the nation’s first law school. In his speech at AOP 2017, Mr. Deng drew attention to the ease of starting a company in South Sudan and its competitive taxes and lamented the lack of education in the country. Rule of law and well trained lawyers are, he said, a foundation for building a competitive private sector in South Sudan.
“In order to make sure we fully support our business initiatives in South Sudan, the South Sudan Bar Association, of which I am a member, is now working hard to see the establishment of a South Sudan Bar professional training school in South Sudan,” said Mr. Deng, who is the Managing Partner of Awatkeer Law Chambers. “For decades South Sudan was deprived of opportunities for education, so this made it impossible for us to have a law school at all. My appeal here is to all my learned colleagues, the lawyers here at the forum, to see if there could be a possibility of you coming forward so that we can see how to join hands.”
The South Sudan Bar school will be a collaborative effort between the South Sudan Ministry of Justice, the South Sudan Bar Association, the government and international partners.
“Why is it important?” asked Mr. Deng. “Because when the lawyers are well-trained, they can well advise the businesses so that they can avoid risk. If they are not well-trained, then there is potential to cause more damage than good.”
