12 March 2013 - To sensitize chiefs and members of the judicial system on arbitrary detention as well as formal and traditional justice, a three-day workshop opened today in the Western Bahr El-Ghazal capital Wau.

Organized by UNMISS in collaboration with the state judiciary and high court, the activity brought chiefs from Wau, Jur and Raja counties.

State Deputy Governor Yel Morris Akol Tit said the workshop was vital for chiefs in carrying out the law. "The workshop will build your capacity so that you can do your job effectively and positively."

Viktor Josev, of UNMISS Justice Advisory Section in Wau, noted that arbitrary detention could occur when arresting person had no mandate to do so. "The workshop ... will look at whether the chiefs can arrest a person or not, or sentence a person to prison."

Participants will review chiefs' experiences and propose a way forward. It will also focus on criminal justice, South Sudan's judiciary, the hierarchy of statutory and traditional customary courts, criminal procedure and the legal framework for detaining accused persons.