Cases that need one
- Asylum and protection claims by South Sudanese and Sudanese applicants: the risk a particular person faces under Sudan's Criminal Act of 1991, under customary law, or from the authorities and armed groups controlling a given area.
- Family reunification and spouse visas: whether a customary marriage, divorce or custody arrangement is valid under South Sudanese or Sudanese law, and what the documents produced actually show.
- Family and inheritance proceedings abroad that depend on the law of the home country: who inherits, who has guardianship of a child, whether a marriage subsists.
- Commercial disputes and arbitrations involving contracts governed by South Sudanese or Sudanese law, companies registered there, or land and licences held there.
- Extradition, mutual legal assistance and international criminal matters, where the fairness of proceedings at home, the applicable penalties and the state of the courts are in issue.
- Constitutional and regional questions: the dismissal of judges and officials, immunities, and the route to the East African Court of Justice.
What an opinion contains
Each opinion follows the form courts expect: the instructions and the questions asked; Prof. Jok's qualifications and the basis of his expertise; the legal sources relied on, cited so they can be checked; the facts assumed; the analysis; and the answers to the questions, with any limits on them stated plainly. Where the matter depends on the practical operation of courts or authorities rather than on the text of a law, the opinion says so and explains the evidence for it. Opinions are written in English and can be sworn or affirmed where the receiving court requires it.
Why Prof. Jok
He holds an LLM in Public Law from the Academy of European Public Law in Athens and a PhD from the University of Helsinki, practises law across East Africa and teaches law at the universities of Helsinki and Juba. He has published on precisely the questions these cases raise: customary law and compensation in South Sudan, the dismissal of judges and the East African Court of Justice, Sudan's Sharia courts and the amputees sentenced under them, and the conflict between Sudan's Criminal Act and the Rome Statute. The four peer-reviewed articles and two books are listed with publisher links, so a tribunal can verify them. He trained in Khartoum and Juba and has lived and worked between Finland and East Africa for many years, which means he can explain each legal system in terms the other side understands.
How to instruct him
Email contact@lawtestimony.org with the questions the opinion must answer, the court or authority that will read it, the relevant documents, and the deadline. He will confirm whether the questions fall within his expertise, what he needs, and when the opinion can be delivered. Conflicts are checked before any instruction is accepted. A curriculum vitae in the form courts require is available on request.
Questions lawyers ask
Will a court accept an opinion from a South Sudanese lawyer on South Sudanese law?
Courts and tribunals accept foreign-law opinions from lawyers qualified and experienced in the law concerned, provided the opinion sets out their qualifications, the sources relied on and the reasoning. Prof. Jok's qualifications and publications are stated in each opinion and verifiable from this site.
Can the opinion address conditions on the ground, not only the law?
Yes, where the question requires it: how courts and authorities actually operate in a given place and period, and what a particular person would in practice face. The opinion distinguishes clearly between what the law provides and what happens in practice, and gives the evidence for the latter.
In what form is the opinion delivered?
As a signed written report in English, structured as the receiving court expects, and sworn or affirmed where required. Supplementary answers to follow-up questions from the court or the other side can be provided.
