Sudan Bar Steering Committee: Suspension of Lawyers’ Licenses Is Illegal and Null

Moatinoon
The Steering Committee of the Sudanese Bar Association has declared illegal a decision issued on December 18, 2025, suspending the licenses of a number of lawyers and barring them from practicing law, stating that the decision is null, void, and without any legal effect.

In a legal memorandum and statement, the committee said the decision was issued by an entity known as the “Lawyers Admission Committee,” despite the fact that its legal mandate is limited to registration and organization of rolls, and does not extend to imposing disciplinary sanctions—an act that constitutes an unlawful usurpation of the authority of the Disciplinary Council, as stipulated exclusively under the Legal Profession Act of 1983 (amended in 2014).

The committee noted that the Bar Council for the 2017–2021 term was dissolved and frozen under Constitutional Decree No. (1) of 2023, rendering any body deriving authority from it, or any decisions issued in its name, legally non-existent and lacking jurisdiction.

According to the statement, the decision was taken without any final court ruling against the affected lawyers, and without notification, investigation, or allowing them the right to defense, in clear violation of the principles of legality of sanctions and fair trial guarantees, as well as the principle of proportionality in disciplinary penalties.

The committee further stated that publishing lists containing lawyers’ names without legal basis or final judicial rulings constitutes harm to professional reputation and a breach of the presumption of innocence, rendering such measures legally void.

It stressed that the decision represents a direct infringement on the independence of the legal profession, guaranteed under Article (5) of the Legal Profession Act, reaffirming that the Steering Committee is the sole legitimate body authorized to manage the affairs of the profession and represent lawyers, in accordance with Constitutional Decree No. (1/2023) and court rulings.

In December 2025, Sudan’s Lawyers Admission Committee suspended the licenses of 31 lawyers, citing their alleged affiliation with the so-called “Tasis Government,” headed by the commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The committee argued that such affiliation constituted a violation of professional ethics and the Legal Profession Act.

The decision sparked widespread controversy within legal and political circles, drawing objections from political parties and legal bodies that described the move as politically motivated and issued by an illegitimate body lacking legal authority to impose such sanctions.