PART ONE SOUTH SUDAN AND THE CONSTITUTION The Republic of South Sudan and its Territory 1. (1) South Sudan is a sovereign and independent Republic, and it shall be known as “The Republic of South Sudan.” (2) The territory of the Republic of South Sudan comprises all lands and air space that constituted the three former Southern Provinces of Bahr el Ghazal, Equatoria and Upper Nile in their boundaries as they stood on January 1, 1956, and the Abyei Area, the territory of the nine Ngok Dinka chiefdoms transferred from Bahr el Ghazal Province to Kordofan Province in 1905 as defined by the Abyei Arbitration Tribunal Award of July 2009. (3) The Republic of South Sudan is bordered by Sudan in the north, Ethiopia in the east, Kenya and Uganda in the south, the Democratic Republic of Congo in the southwest, and the Central African Republic in the west. (4) South Sudan is governed on the basis of a decentralized democratic system and is an all embracing homeland for its people. It is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-racial entity where such diversities peacefully co-exist. (5) South Sudan is founded on justice, equality, respect for human dignity and advancement of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Sovereignty 2. Sovereignty is vested in the people and shall be exercised by the State through its democratic and representative institutions established by this Constitution and the law. Supremacy of the Constitution 3. (1) This Constitution derives its authority from the will of the people and shall be the supreme law of the land. It shall have a binding force on all persons, institutions, organs and agencies of government throughout the Country. (2) The authority of government at all levels shall derive from this Constitution and the law. (3) The states’ constitutions and all laws shall conform to this Constitution. Defence of the Constitution 4. (1) No person or group of persons shall take or retain control of State power except in accordance with this Constitution. 2