SOUTH SUDAN POLICE ACT

INPROL Consolidated Response (07-001)

With contributions from Vivienne O’Connor, Colette Rausch, Ali Saleem, Christina Jones-Pauly,
O’Neil Pouliot, Teuta Gashi

Prepared by Scott Worden

 SOUTH SUDAN POLICE ACT
INPROL Consolidated Response (07-001)
January 4, 2007

Submitted by: Jeremy Mull, UNMIS UNPOL Legal Adviser

Drafted by: Scott Worden, INPROL Rule of Law Facilitator

With contributions from:

1. Vivienne O’Connor, Irish Center for Human Rights

2. Colette Rausch, Deputy Director, Rule of Law Program, U.S. Institute of Peace
3. Ali Saleem, former UNTAET Police Advisor (East Timor)
4. Christina Jones-Pauly, Sudan Program, USIP
5. O Neil Pouliot, Police Forum Facilitator, INPROL
6. Teuta Gashi, Knowledge Management Analyst, INPROL

The full text of the responses provided by these INPROL members can be found at
http://www.inprol.org/node/1554. INPROL invites further comment by members.

Note: All opinions stated in this consolidated response have been made in a personal capacity
and do not necessarily reflect the views of particular organizations. INPROL does not explicitly
advocate policies.

INPROL is a project of the United States Institute of Peace with facilitation support from the Center of Excellence for Stability
Police Units, the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre, and the Public International Law & Policy Group.
 SOUTH SUDAN POLICE ACT

Background:

The UN is helping the government of South Sudan to draft a Police Act that will
enumerate powers and duties of state and local police. The South Sudan legal system
has common law roots and the Sudanese drafters seek to draw from model experience
in the region as well as relevant best practices from other transitional scenarios. Chief
among the key issues is the distribution of power between State and local police forces.

Query:

Are there available model police acts, or acts from other countries that would provide a
useful example to aid in the drafting of the new South Sudan code? Does anyone have
experience from drafting police acts in similar circumstances that provide useful lessons
learned?

Response Summary:

A wide variety of police acts are available for use as drafting models; the trick is to
identify ones that fit the type of legal system used in the drafting country and the roles
different types of police are expected to have there.

The key variables to consider are the type of legal system (common law, civil law,
Sharia, or a hybrid); the division of labor among different police units (such as the use of
judicial police or gendarmes, and whether national/state/local divisions will have
separate or concurrent jurisdictions); and the ‘style’ of law that will be drafted (i.e. does
the law state broad powers and then rely on separate implementing regulations, or does
the law act like Standard Operating Procedures and explicitly state how police are to do
their jobs). Whatever the context, the answers to these questions must be clearly
resolved in the Act.

As a basic model, a number of police organizations throughout the world have adopted
the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials (Adopted by General Assembly
resolution 34/169 of 17 December 1979) as part of their administrative procedures. The
UN Code can be considered a baseline of applicable police standards and consideration
should be given to incorporating it into a Police Act or Regulations.

More specifically, South Sudan’s legal system is based roughly on the British common
law model. In that vein, the UK Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) and its
accompanying practice notes provide a good resource in terms of police procedure in
the sphere of criminal investigation. Importantly, the legislation is very clear and the
accompanying practice guidelines are comprehensive and straightforward.

The South Sudanese also look to South Africa as a policing model, with many South
Sudanese officers having received training in South Africa. Thus the South African
Police Act (SAPA) could be a useful model. The SAPA offers a comprehensive
description of police duties, including detailed provisions on establishment of an

January 2007 INPROL Consolidated Response (07-001) Page 1 of 3

overseeing police commission and secretariat, appointment of officers and
administrators, promulgation of specific police regulations, conditions of employment,
and disciplinary measures.

As a newly autonomous entity in a developing country, however, there are clearly

significant practical differences between South Sudan and more developed police
systems.

East Timor and Kosovo present comparative transitional models, having recently revised
their police laws and produced Standard Operating Procedures governing police
conduct. (Note, however, that the final Kosovo Police Act is not available yet as it is
circulating in a form of a Draft amongst OSCE, UNMIK and Kosovo government officials
for further feedback.) The East Timor Police Act provides an alternative example,
although its Standard Operating Procedures and the Internal Security Act are not
publicly available.

As a final point, consideration should always be given to incorporating principles of

human rights law and humanitarian law into Police Acts or Regulations. These
principles include proportionality in the use of force, freedom from arbitrary detention,
and clear prohibitions of abusive conduct from the point of arrest through confinement
and interrogation.

A wide range of other Police Acts and related Standard Operating Procedures are also
available online at the INPROL site, listed in the Resources section below.

________________

Compilation of Resources:

This Consolidated Response draws from many of the following resources, which are
useful reference tools for policing practitioners. All listed documents with a hyperlink are
uploaded to the INPROL Digital Library unless otherwise noted.

 UK Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE)

 1995 South Africa Police Act
 East Timor Internal Security Act (Not Publicly Available)
 East Timor Police Act

The Draft East Timor Internal Security Act and Draft East Timor Police SOPs are not yet
publicly available.

Kosovo

The UNMIK Police Manual and an additional document that breaks down its constituent
components are presently being drafted, but may not become publicly available until
further determinations have been made with regard to Kosovo’s final status talks.

January 2007 INPROL Consolidated Response (07-001) Page 2 of 3

Likewise, advisors are currently drafting Principles for Democratic Policing' for use in
Bosnia and Herzegovina and accompanying Commissioner Guidance, which are not yet
public pending further review.

Model Codes

UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials Adopted by General Assembly

Resolution 34/169 of 17 December 1979

Police Acts can be found in the INPROL Digital Library under Police Related Rules and
Regulations

 Slovakia Police Law

 Romania Police Act
 Poland Law on Police
 Hungarian Police Act
 Bulgaria Police Act
 Canada Police Act
 Malaysia Police Act
 Police Act of Slovenia
 Model German Police Act
 Finland Police Act

Note: All opinions stated in this consolidated reply have been made in a personal capacity
and do not necessarily reflect the views of particular organizations. INPROL does not
explicitly advocate policies.

Information:
New Queries: To send a new query, please send an email to inprol@inprol.org.
Documents: To submit a document to INPROL, please login to INPROL and visit
http://www.inprol.org/uploadcontent or send an email (with the document attached) to
inprol@inprol.org.

January 2007 INPROL Consolidated Response (07-001) Page 3 of 3