Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06KIGALI946
2006-10-02 05:48:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Kigali
Cable title:  

BAR PRESIDENT ON JUSTICE SYSTEM IN RWANDA

Tags:  PREL PHUM RW 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLGB #0946 2750548
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 020548Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY KIGALI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3301
INFO RUEHJB/AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA 1563
RUEHDR/AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM 0757
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 1462
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 0129
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 0622
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0144
C O N F I D E N T I A L KIGALI 000946 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 9/28/2016
TAGS: PREL PHUM RW
SUBJECT: BAR PRESIDENT ON JUSTICE SYSTEM IN RWANDA


Classified By: Ambassador Michael R. Arietti, reason 1.4 (B/D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L KIGALI 000946

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 9/28/2016
TAGS: PREL PHUM RW
SUBJECT: BAR PRESIDENT ON JUSTICE SYSTEM IN RWANDA


Classified By: Ambassador Michael R. Arietti, reason 1.4 (B/D)


1. (SBU) Emboffs met September 27 with President of the
Rwanda Bar Association Gatera Gashabana to discuss the state
of the judicial system. Gashabana began by emphasizing the
importance of the "text" of the 2003 Constitution. "Now we
have a document which firmly establishes the independence of
the judiciary -- our job is to make it a reality," he said.
This could not be underestimated, he emphasized -- he and all
other active members of the bar predicated all their efforts
at reform and improvement upon the constitutional "text."


2. (C) The judiciary was young and inexperienced, he said.
But standards for appointment had been raised, and the cadre
of judges was much stronger than it had been only a few years
ago. They understood the principle of an independent
judiciary far better than in previous years, both in their
"mentality" and in their training. There were still members
of the executive branch who thought a telephone call to a
judge was an appropriate means of communicating executive
preferences (as opposed to motions or pleadings in a
particular case by a government attorney). However, the
"obligation" to be independent was taken seriously by the
corps of judges, and they acted accordingly.


3. (SBU) Gashabana noted that there was an active judicial
council which reviewed the performance of judges, and
disciplined them if they performed poorly or acted
improperly. Judges had been dismissed for misbehavior, he
said, and judges were well aware that they had standards of
professional behavior to which they were expected to adhere.
Those judges working at the lower levels fell afoul of
professional standards more often than those with more
training and greater education at higher levels.


4. (C) When asked of police abuses, and reports that police
officers sometimes used several days of detention to
informally punish those believed to have broken the law (or
irritated local authority),Gashabana agreed such cases
occurred. Pointing out that officers did have powers of
arrest and detention upon probable cause that an offense had
been committed, what was important to observe, he said, was
whether or not there was any administrative follow-up to the
detention and release -- was there a case file developed, did
prosecutors examine the arrest and the evidence at hand, or
were the suspects merely sent on their way with no
administrative record of the case?


5. (SBU) Gashabana mentioned that the Bar had grown in
size, from 150 to 200 lawyers. While still limited in its
capacity to provide free legal representation to indigent
clients, the members of the bar took seriously their
obligation to assist the courts when called upon to do so on
a pro bono basis. "We have to earn a living," he said, and
no lawyer could afford to handle too many pro bono cases.
Although there was a judicial fund established to provide
fees to lawyers in such cases, if had not yet been funded.
"When that happens, we can handle more cases."


6. (SBU) Gashabana closed the meeting by saying that the
Bar was always anxious for more training for its members, and
hoped the USG would keep the Bar in mind when it framed its
development goals for Rwanda.
ARIETTI