3.3 Rwanda's legal framework on legal aid
Rwanda is a democracy founded on the rule of law. This makes
it incumbent upon the state to avail free legal aid to its
citizens.96 The Rwandan Constitution provides, albeit very briefly,
for the right to a public and fair hearing with all the necessary guarantees of
defence. The adoption of the Constitution97 heralded a new era not
only for Rwanda as a country but also for the whole of its population. Among
others, the Constitution protects
92 Ibid. p. 15.
93 See Articles 82 and 380.
94 It is to be noted that the preamble of the
Constitution in its Article 9 restate the Rwandan commitment to the principles
of human rights enshrined in the UN Charter, the International Convention on
Genocide, the UDHR, the International Convention on Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination, the ICCPR, the ICESCR, the International Convention on the
Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women, the African Charter
on Human and Peoples? Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
95 See detailed analysis of this law infra
point 3.3.3.
96 As well pointed out above, the first attempt on
legal aid in Rwanda was the law No 3/97 of 19 March 1997 Establishing the Bar
of Rwanda.
97 Adopted via referendum on 4 June 2003.
the right to a fair hearing,98 the right to
equality before the law,99 the right of a detained person to be
informed of the nature and cause of charges proffered against him/her
100 and the right to a defence. 101 These rights apply at all
levels of proceedings before administrative, judicial and all other decision
making organs.102
It should be noted that a number of elements in the
Constitution attempt to bolster access to a fair hearing in the form of equal
access to the courts and the right to a defence; these precepts are seen as
mandatory for justice to prevail.103 Additionally, the Constitution
seeks to ensure that nobody is denied the right to appear before a judge to
have their case heard.104 It is submitted nonetheless that these
constitutional provisions can amount to no more than a paper tiger due to a
number of hindrances: chief among these being lack of the financial means to
pay for legal services.105 It should further be noted that
illiteracy presents another hurdle to accessing justice in most developing
countries including Rwanda. A huge number of Rwandans are illiterate and live
on the breadline.106 This prevents them from vigorously affirming
their rights and underscores the need for legal aid as a fundamental right to
be enshrined in the country?s Constitution.
The Constitution guarantees public and fair hearings; one of
its major flaws lies in its failure to mention the right to a state-provided
legal representation.107 In stark contrast, this right is contained
in the South African Constitution.108
98 Article 19 of the Constitution of the Republic of
Rwanda
99 Ibid. Article 18.
100Ibid.
101 Ibid.
102 Ibid.
103 See among other legal scholars Hennie, supra note 5,
56.
104 See Article 19 al. 2 of the Rwandan Constitution.
105 For instance legal representation and/or legal aid since most
of the Rwandan population are not well positioned enough to be kept well
informed of their rights.
106 In 2005 the country Section 1 s PPP adjusted GDP per
capita in current international $ was only 36 percent of the SSA average
(calculation based on data from the World Bank 2007b). This clearly shows that
even though the government of Rwanda has set out ambitious development goals,
one of the most central being for the country to reach middle income status and
to halve poverty by 2020, still, the country is poor, even by African
standards. See further details in A Bigsten, A Isaksson Growth and Poverty
in Rwanda: Evaluating the EDPRS 2008-2012(2008).
107 This is a right provided for in many other countries?
constitutions. See for example in sub Saharan Africa countries S. 35(2) (c) of
the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 108 of 1996. See also Article
42. 2 f (v) of the Constitution of Malawi, Article 28 (3) (e) of the
Constitution of Uganda and Article 18 (2) (d) of the Constitution of Zambia, S.
35(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria No 24 of 1999 (A
892).
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