TNLA, Max Planck Foundation agree to strengthen legislative capacity

The Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Max Planck Foundation for International Peace and the Rule of Law to strengthen the legal and legislative capacity of legislators and parliamentary staff.

The agreement, signed on Tuesday at the National Legislature in Juba, brings into effect an earlier understanding between the TNLA and the Max Planck Foundation to support training and legal expertise within the legislature.

Speaking during the ceremony, Oliver Mori Benjamin, Acting Chairperson of the Information Committee and spokesperson of the TNLA, said the partnership will focus on building the capacity of members of parliament and parliamentary staff, particularly in legislative drafting.

“Their purpose for coming here was to interact with the Right Honourable Acting Speaker regarding an agreement reached earlier between the Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) and the Max Planck Foundation,” he said. “They earlier agreed to sponsor training of members of parliament and the staff of the parliament in various fields, especially in terms of drafting bills and so on. So, today, they came to the parliament, and that agreement is officially signed into a bill that ties the TNLA and the Marx Plan upon such training.”

“We are very pleased that today we signed a memorandum of understanding,” Mori added.

Dr. Kathrin Maria Scherr, Managing Director of the Max Planck Foundation for International Peace and the Rule of Law, said the organisation’s support is aimed at strengthening the legal knowledge base within parliament.

“We are, as the Max Planck Foundation, supporting the legal knowledge base here in parliament. We are working mainly with the committees, the standing specialised committees. We are starting to work with the Committee on Legislation and Justice,” she said. “And as Max Planck provides legal expertise, we work on legislative drafting standards and basically the legislative cycle here in South Sudan.”

Dr. Scherr said the partnership would also seek to ensure that the knowledge and skills gained through the programme remain within parliament beyond the current political and electoral cycle.

The partnership is expected to provide parliamentarians and staff with technical knowledge on legislative drafting and other aspects of the legislative process, while strengthening the capacity of parliamentary committees to carry out their functions.

The agreement comes as South Sudan’s parliament continues to work on legislation and institutional processes under the country’s transitional political framework.

The post TNLA, Max Planck Foundation agree to strengthen legislative capacity appeared first on Radio Tamazuj.