South Sudan’s Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned the constitutional petition filed by former Executive Director in the Office of the President, Ajing Deng Ajing, after the Constitutional Panel failed to meet the legal quorum required to hear the case.
The hearing, which had been scheduled for 28 July, was postponed to 13 August 2026 at 11:00 a.m. after one member of the nine-judge Constitutional Panel was absent.
Under South Sudanese law, all nine members of the Constitutional Panel must be present for the court to hear constitutional matters, leaving the bench unable to proceed with the case.
The petition challenges Ajing Deng’s continued detention without formal charges, with his legal team arguing that the detention violates constitutional protections.
Represented by lawyers George Angier and Kiir Chol, Ajing is seeking provisional remedies from the court while his constitutional petition is being determined.
The legal team contends that his prolonged detention infringes on his fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed under the Transitional Constitution.
The case had been expected to resume after the Supreme Court last month dismissed two preliminary objections raised in the matter and affirmed that it has constitutional jurisdiction to hear and determine the petition.
Tuesday’s hearing was expected to consider the application for provisional remedies, review submissions from both parties, and identify the key constitutional questions to be determined during the substantive hearing.
However, the proceedings could not continue because the Constitutional Panel lacked its full membership, forcing the court to adjourn the matter once again.
This marks the second consecutive adjournment of the case due to an incomplete Constitutional Panel. The matter had previously been postponed after both parties agreed to delay the hearing because the panel was not fully constituted.
The Supreme Court is now expected to reconvene on 13 August 2026, when the Constitutional Panel is anticipated to be complete, allowing the constitutional petition to proceed.
