The judicial authorities of Rwanda and Singapore have, on March 14, held bilateral meeting on matters of judicial cooperation.

The Chief Justice of Rwanda, Faustin Ntezilyayo, and his counterpart of Singapore, Sundaresh Menon co-chaired the second virtual meeting as a follow up to the Memorandum of Understanding on judicial cooperation that was signed between the two countries in April 2021.

Both countries also have an agreement to promote understanding of the applicable laws and judicial processes pertaining to the recognition and enforcement of foreign money judgments in their respective jurisdiction.

The deal is expected to ensure quality and timely justice delivery in both countries so as to bolster business confidence in the two jurisdictions.

The virtual meeting brought together Judges, senior judicial personnel, and representatives from the two sister Judiciaries.

Chief Justice Ntezilyayo noted that the cooperation between the two judiciaries has already yielded tangible results, especially in the area of capacity building.

The Chief Justice of Rwanda, Faustin Ntezilyayo, and his counterpart of Singapore, Sundaresh Menon co-chaired the second virtual meeting on March 14. / Dan Nsengiyumva

The training comprises topics such as judicial outreach, ADR practices, Common Law and use of precedent, adjudication of financial, tax and commercial disputes; adjudication of economic and financial crimes; commercial conflict of laws and international litigation, he said.

On his part, Chief Justice Menon reiterated that Singapore and Rwanda share many similarities as motivation towards judicial excellence.

"For one, both nations are relatively small states which aspire towards punching above their weight regionally, if not beyond that, and this has given sister countries an unwavering commitment to pursue excellence in all that we do, which is reflected in our respective judiciaries’ pursuit of judicial excellence,” he explained.

The continued pursuit of cross-border judicial cooperation, the sharing of best practice and mutual learning, he said, serve to keep both nations on the cutting edge of legal and judicial innovation so that both courts remain able to discharge their functions in the administration of justice amidst a rapidly changing legal landscape.

Ntezilyayo disclosed that the Judiciary of Rwanda has established the Executive and Advisory Committees in charge of overseeing the implementation of this bilateral cooperation.

Besides the judicial cooperation, other areas of cooperation between Rwanda and Singapore include aviation, trade and business, public service management, and education.