Guinea-Bissau: Pursue the construction of an independent justice system that is of use to the population

This policy brief by the Institute for Security Studies examines the challenges facing the justice system in Guinea-Bissau, highlighting a history of impunity and the failure to implement key reforms due to political instability. It advocates for the relaunch of the 2015–2019 Justice Reform Programme and constitutional changes to ensure judicial independence and improve access to justice for the population.

• Guinea-Bissau's justice system is characterized by a history of impunity for serious crimes, including the assassination of military leaders and top state officials, which has led to a cycle of violence and the settling of scores among elites.
• The absence of formal state justice mechanisms, particularly in rural areas, has led citizens to rely on individual settlements or traditional authorities, whose local cultural norms are often perceived as more influential than the Constitution.
• Judicial independence is severely undermined by a lack of financial autonomy and inadequate budgets for courts, which allows the executive branch and the military to interfere in legal proceedings.
• Despite legislative efforts to increase access to justice, such as the creation of sectoral 'small claims courts', there is a significant gap in implementation; as of March 2018, only 11 of the 42 planned district courts were operational.
• The judicial police force is critically under-resourced, lacking a forensic laboratory or institute and operating only from a single unit in the capital, Bissau, despite having national jurisdiction.
• The Justice Reform Programme (2015–2019), designed to strengthen court independence, transparency, and infrastructure, has been blocked and remains unadopted due to the political crisis since 2015.
• The document recommends several structural changes to the judiciary via constitutional reform, including the creation of a Constitutional Court with authority superior to the Supreme Court and the establishment of fixed, irremovable terms for the Attorney General.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (2018). Guinea-Bissau: Pursue the construction of an independent justice system that is of use to the population. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief-guineabissau-4-eng.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. Guinea-Bissau: Pursue the construction of an independent justice system that is of use to the population. 2018. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief-guineabissau-4-eng.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=Guinea-Bissau: Pursue the construction of an independent justice system that is of use to the population |date=May 2018 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief-guineabissau-4-eng.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudies2018guineabissau, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{Guinea-Bissau: Pursue the construction of an independent justice system that is of use to the population}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2018}, month = may, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief-guineabissau-4-eng.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }