Lawyers in El-Daein town, the capital of Sudan’s East Darfur State, last weekend organized a workshop to discuss the legitimacy of forming judicial authorities to prosecute criminals and adjudicate cases in the state in the absence of official judicial powers.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) routed the Sudan Armed Forces’ 20th Infantry Division from El-Daein in November 2023 and assumed state control.
A lawyer Suleiman Younis Ahmed, told the media that many lawyers attended the workshop in El-Daein.
“A paper was presented about the legitimacy of forming judicial authorities in areas under de facto (RSF) control,” he explained. “International Humanitarian Law permits de facto authorities to form judicial courts to prosecute individuals committing crimes and maintain security in the controlled territories.”
Younis added: “These courts must apply the laws that were in effect before the conflict, and if the de facto authority wishes to change the laws, they must opt for milder ones.”
According to the lawyer, the criteria for appointments in the new judicial body requires retaining individuals who served as judges, court clerks, or worked in public prosecution before the war.
“If such individuals are unavailable, experienced lawyers can be appointed as judges by the de facto authority,” Younis stated.
Since the SAF was ejected from El-Daein, the head of the government’s judicial apparatus ordered judges to leave the city and close the courts, citing the army’s loss of control over the state.