Rwandan lawyers have called for open cross-border policies within the East African region, urging countries to move beyond "politics” and protectionist tendencies that hinder the smooth operation of the legal practice.

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The call was reiterated during the East African Law Society (EALS) annual conference and general assembly which concluded on Saturday, November 30 in Uganda.

Among the key outcomes of the assembly was the commissioning of research to assess the current state of cross-border legal practice in the region.

The President of the Rwanda Bar Association, Moise Nkundabarashi, who attended assembly alongside lawyers from prominent law firms, said the Rwanda’s lawyers were barred from practicing in neighbouring countries despite opening its own open policy.

"What is clear is that Rwanda has done everything that was needed in terms of legislation and we now have approximately 58 members that have been admitted from the other East African countries,” Nkundabarashi told The New Times, decrying the lack of reciprocity by some countries.

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"All we are saying here as Rwanda is that we are calling all other state partners, state members of the EAC, to do the same because they have not yet domesticated the treaty in their jurisdiction. And the issues around cross-border practice have always been discussed but it looks like there is a lot of politics involved where some people want to protect their market,” he argued.

After the completion of the proposed research that the regional law society commissioned, the RBA expects to use the results to continue pushing for open cross-border practice in the East African Community, Nkundabarashi reckoned.

"We have committed at the AGM (annual general meeting) that we are going to advocate and make sure that cross-border practice becomes a reality. It's a commitment that we have taken,” he said.

Meanwhile, at the same meeting, Rwandan lawyer Angele Buzayire was elected council member of EALS, joining Nkundabarashi among the representatives of the Rwanda Bar Association for the next 2 years.