The new chairperson of the Rwanda Law Reform Commission (RLRC), Aimable Havugiyaremye, and his deputy, Béata Mukeshimana, were yesterday sworn in before the Chief Justice, Prof. Sam Rugege.

Rugege encouraged the new leaders to conduct their work with a sense of mission in line with the commission’s mandate to keep the country’s laws up-to-date.

"What Rwanda and Rwandans need is fair and useful laws and we hope that the Rwanda Law Reform Commission will continue to assess the country’s laws and advise on how they can be improved,” he said.

The CJ encouraged the new leaders to root for more consultation with citizens and members of the private sector in the process to improve the country’s laws if they are to succeed in drafting unambiguous and user-friendly laws.

"Laws should be written in simple and clear language for everyone to understand them and should clearly specify how they will be implemented,” Rugege said.

Havugiyaremye is a seasoned lawyer and law professor whose previous jobs include being acting rector at Rwanda’s Institute of Legal Practice and Development and working at the Ministry of Justice, the Rwanda Law Reform Commission, as well as teaching law at the University of Rwanda.

He told journalists shortly after swearing in that all the commission’s responsibilities will be his priorities during his five-year tenure.

"We will continue doing research to understand any current issues with our laws and check whether there are improvements that can be made. There are laws in the country and we have to constantly check whether they are up-to-date and introduce changes where they are needed,” Havugiyaremye said.

The new chair of the RLRC was also a member of the 2015 Constitutional Review Commission, whose seven independent commissioners assisted Parliament in working out the amendments of the Constitution after 70 per cent of eligible voters petitioned the House to change the supreme law and allow President Paul Kagame a chance to continue leading the country.

Mukeshimana, who is now RLRC’s deputy-chairperson, was also a member of the Constitutional Review Commission and was previously working for the RLRC as head of the body’s legal research department.

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