In 2003 Rwanda started a series of judicial reforms with the aim of having an independent, effective, efficient judicial system which is close to those to be tried and rendering coherent and uniform judicial decisions. In this vision, the Judiciary assigned itself a mission to dispense justice with fairness and integrity in order to serve those due to be tried and to contribute to the edification of a rule of law characterized notably by the respect of fundamental human liberties and rights. In order to concretize this mission, the judiciary set four objectives to achieve.

These objectives include: dispensing justice which is accessible to those due to be tried, ensuring good administration of justice (effective and efficient), making independence of the Judiciary effective, collaborating actively and of efficiently with partners.

At the time of the development of the strategic themes, an activity which usually takes place every year, the Courts and Tribunals define their priorities. On the basis of these priorities, they work out an annual action plan. The judicial personnel in charge of implementing this action plan must absolutely respect some values, including,: the speed, quality, professionalism, discipline and integrity in the service to the community, values which are the hallmark of the Judiciary . Ethics and professional deontology of all the personnel are based on those values.

Since 2003, activities of the Judiciary have been no more exclusively directed to pleading audiences but also to the development of an economic space conducive to national and foreign investment. As a result of this improvement of the economic climate, the Judiciary has become one of the key actors to the integral development of the country.

Brief overview of the course of the judiciary from 2003 to date

Conscious that the mission of the Judiciary could be achieved only through an adequate legal and structural framework, in 2003 Rwanda started a series of Judicial Reforms starting with the restructuring of the Supreme Court. The 04 /06/2003 Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda as revised to date provides in its Art. 140 that the’ Judicial Power is exercised by the Supreme Court and other Courts and Tribunals instituted by the Constitution and other laws.’

Thus, the Organic law N° 07/2004 of the 25/04/2004 deterring the code of judicial organization, functioning and competence as modifies to date, provided in its judicial structure an unified Supreme Court, without sections as was the case before December 2003.

This Supreme Court is the highest Jurisdiction of the country and its jurisdiction covers the entire national territory. It is headed by a President, assisted by a Vice- President and 12 Judges whose number can either be increased or reduced when necessary, a High Court of Republic with four (4) chambers on secondment with a seat in:

 Nyanza (Southern Province),
 Musanze (Northern Province)
 Rusizi (Western Province)
 Rwamagana (Eastern Province).

Its jurisdiction covers the entire Republic. Twelve (12) Courts of Province (TP) were instituted, their number corresponded to the number of the provinces of the country and every province had one including the Tribunal of the City of Kigali. A hundred and six (106) District Tribunals of District and City with a District Tribunal (DT) in every District and a City Tribunal (CT) in every city of the country and their competence were well defined.

Two years later (in 2006), under the impulse of the general reform of the Rwandan Public Service and the Local Administration, a new judicial structure was put into place by the Organic Law N014/2006 of the 22/03/2006 determining organization, functioning and competence of the jurisdictions brought some modifications: Province Tribunals were replaced by High Instance Tribunals. The 106 District Tribunals were reduced to 60 Grassroots Tribunals.

From 2004 to 2007, Commercial chambers of Huye, Musanze and Kigali hear commercial disputes. Towards the end of 2007 (December 2007), the Organic Law N° 59/2007 of the 16/12/2007 establishing organization, functioning and competence of commercial jurisdictions instituted commercial jurisdictions in the following order:

 The High Commercial Court situated in Kigali,
 The Commercial Court of Nyarugenge,
 The Commercial court of Huye
 The Commercial Court of Musanze.

Nowadays, the innovation brought by the Organic Law N° 51/2008 of the 09/09/2008 establishing the code of organization, functioning and judicial competence in its articles 7, 14 and 23 aims at effective and efficient jurisdictions faced with the big stock of judicial arrears by providing the bench with a unique Judge.

It is as a result of this problem that a contractual approach of Judges and registrars in charge of the curbing of the judicial arrears has been conceived


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