The Committee for Justice (CFJ) has documented a decision issued on December 18, 2025, to suspend the licenses of several lawyers and bar them from practicing in Sudan—an action deemed unlawful and a blatant violation of the independence of the legal profession.
According to CFJ, the decision was issued by an entity lacking legal authority, given that the Sudanese Bar Association Council for the 2017–2021 term was dissolved and frozen under Constitutional Decree No. (1) of 2023. This renders any decisions issued in the name of the council or based on its authority legally void. Furthermore, the decision was made without following the procedures stipulated in the Sudanese Advocacy Act of 1983 (amended in 2014) and its regulations, and without notifying the concerned lawyers, conducting a legal investigation, or granting them the right to defense.
CFJ stresses that the decision constitutes an unlawful usurpation of the powers of the Disciplinary Council, which alone holds the authority to impose disciplinary sanctions. It violates the principle of legality of penalties and fair trial guarantees and disregards proportionality and due process, as the harshest sanctions were imposed directly without legitimate grounds.
Publishing lists of lawyers’ names without legal basis or a final judicial ruling breaches the presumption of innocence, damages professional reputation, and represents a flagrant violation of the independence of the legal profession—a right guaranteed under the Advocacy Act and international standards.
The Committee calls on the Sudanese authorities to immediately revoke this decision, ensure respect for the independence of the legal profession, and protect lawyers from any arbitrary measures that bypass the law and legal safeguards.
