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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
RWANDA: Lawyers call on government to harmonise Gacaca law with constitution
NAIROBI, 31 December 2003 (IRIN) - Rwandan lawyers have called on the government to harmonise the law governing Gacaca courts with the recently adopted constitution, the Rwanda News Agency (RNA) reported on Tuesday.
RNA quoted the chairman of the National Bar Association, Jean Haguma, as saying "it is the constitution that overrules other laws. Relevant authorities should therefore consider changing the law of Gacaca".
Gacaca courts are based on a traditional method of conflict resolution in Rwanda, in which the community elects "people of integrity" from the community to decide the punishment.
The law on Gacaca courts was adopted in March 2001 as a way of bringing justice more quickly to survivors of the 1994 genocide of some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus by extremist Hutus.
According to RNA, the lawyers are protesting the fact that they will not be able to render their services during forthcoming Gacaca proceedings. RNA said lawyers had described as "controversial" a Gacaca law provision sidelining lawyers during the Gacaca trials.
"The constitution is very clear, we [lawyers] should not be excluded from anything that involves defence and prosecution parties," RNA reported Haguma as saying.
Theme(s): (IRIN) Governance, (IRIN) Human Rights
[ENDS]
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