The lower House on Wednesday passed a draft Bill establishing an independent commission that will analyse the review of the Constitution, following the demands by over 3.7 million Rwandans to amend the 2003 Constitution.

The commission, which is subject to consideration by the Senate, will comprise seven people, with extensive background in constitutional law. The body will report to Parliament.

The commissioners are supposed to be appointed by the President, once the law establishing the commission has been gazetted, and their principal mandate will be to find any gaps within the Constitution before it is put to a referendum.

Speaking to The New Times yesterday, Senator Tito Rutaremara, who chaired the commission that drafted the current Constitution, said that the commissioners would need to "clean the law taking into context what is at stake at the moment”.

"Their task will be not to draft a new Constitution, rather to propose amendments with regards to the ongoing debate; but then they will as well look at clauses that are no longer relevant with the current context,” said Rutaremara.

He gave an example of articles related to Gacaca semi-traditional courts, which, he said, need to be revisited to see whether they are still relevant, especially since the courts are no longer operational.

"It is all about what the law should serve today at the same time considering the will of the people,” he said.

Rutaremara added that the commission will operate under the Parliament and is expected to simply provide technical support to the legislators.

Comparative constitutionalism

Meanwhile, experts in the field believe that the commissioners will need to focus on the philosophy of the law and how it serves the will of the people to avoid blanket comparative constitutionalism.

According to Innocent Musonera, a lecturer at University of Rwanda’s College of Arts and Social Sciences, the country should not fall into the trap of other international political discourses on matters of constitutionalism.

"It is important to remember that it is not the first time such a commission is being set up. The difference now is that they will be charged with handling amendments technically at the same time advising lawmakers on how best to go about the matter,” he said.

The commission will have an initial mandate of four months, which may be renewed.

Remuneration

Abbas Mukama, the deputy Speaker in charge of administration and finances, said that all commissioners will be remunerated according to existing salary scale for other commissions.

"Concerning the remuneration and benefits for the support staff, we shall work closely with the Ministry of Public Service and Labour,” he said.

The creation of the commission is in line with the ongoing debate following petitions by millions of Rwandans calling for the amendment of the Constitution to allow President Paul Kagame to continue to lead the country beyond 2017.

Under the current Constitution, the President can only serve two seven-year terms, and President Kagame is currently serving his last.

The amendment of Article 101 of the Constitution which determines the terms in office of the President can only be done through a referendum.

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