1.3 Hypothesis of the study
An individual's recourse right of access to justice can often
amount to no more than a
paper right due to a number of hindrances, mostly
the lack of money. Thus, it is
18 Unlike the common law practice, a civil litigant
is also allowed to be a party to a criminal trial, and claiming for redress,
after the formulation of a claim for damages. And the process leading to
criminal decision goes on along with claim for damages. It is worth noting that
this is common in France and in virtually all purely civil law countries.
19 As of October 2009 the Rwanda Bar Association was
composed of 450 lawyers. Apart from the Bar, there is also a Corps of Judicial
Defenders which provides legal assistance to indigents.
20 This is not the case for all civil law countries
because some countries like South Africa which is the civil law system allow
lawyers to receive salaries.
21Article 30 of the Law on the Bar No 3/97 of
19/3/1997 in Official Gazette No 8 of April 15, 1997.
22 Unlike to Rwanda, these include countries where
they are racial minorities. See details Zemans, supra note 11, 5.
23 Ibid.
24 The fact that practically most of lawyers in
Rwanda live in Kigali (the Capital City) poses a particular obstacle in terms
of geography and makes legal representation by lawyers in the provinces
exceedingly expensive.
worthwhile to note that legal aid to the needy people is an
important mechanisms facilitating people?s access to justice.25
Legal aid must be seen within a wider content to access to justice?.
Yet, there can be a variety of ways to accessing justice.26
Providing this service to ordinary people is a challenge that all societies
based on the rule of law face. In its own way it is almost as necessary as
providing healthcare and education.
Even if there are legal provisions on legal aid in Rwanda, the
legal aid is at its developmental phase. This makes it imperative to adopt some
innovative approaches in various areas to address the problem of better access
to justice by many poor people in Rwanda. Because legal aid is a constantly
evolving area, the approaches outlined in this dissertation may serve as an
impetus to law reform and in the broader area of access to justice in
Rwanda.
1.4 Central objectives of the study
The aim of this thesis is to assess and critically analyse the
availability of legal aid services in Rwanda. This thesis will also trace and
analyse the development and efficacy of Rwandan legal aid mechanisms in
guaranteeing access to justice and their conformity with international law
norms and standards.
The following central issues are addressed:
whether the Rwandan legal framework is compatible with
international law norms and standards in a as far as access to justice trough
legal aid is concerned.
whether legal aid delivery-model(s) put in place in Rwanda
really facilitate such access to justice. This is done in light of broad range
of possible delivery models that might be deployed by a legal aid system
bearing in mind that the mechanical transplantation of models into a particular
country context rarely meets with success.
25 Zemans, supra note 11, 5.
26 For example, in most countries, there are a
number of important pieces of legislation on the administration of justice
aiming to ensure access to justice to the people seeking it but still legal aid
remains of vital role in this regard.
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