Judiciary is key to rule of law

Last week, on September 11, 2017, President Paul Kagame officiated at the launch of the Judicial Year 2017/18 and in his speech he said; “the entire judicial process should not be looked at as an event or even be perceived as a procedure but rather a serious undertaking that ensures the country is governed by the rule of law”. His speech was more of a reminder to the judiciary, as one of the three arms of the State, to dole out fair justice. And, of course, absence of fair justice leads to chilling effects. It wasn’t, however, a wake-up call to the judiciary alone, but to all actors in the justice system. Expediting the judicial process is a principle, but a tortuous process is an exception. Anyone would be happy to see that justice is administered in a free, fair and timely manner. This, of course, requires solemn undertaking by judicial sector to fix any tortuous slow system in order to dispense justice expeditiously. It is not only about applying the laws, but it also requires high level of professional integrity by all actors. In particular, if the judicial sector players don’t live up to their core mandate, they may lose public trust. The rule of law, one of the Constitutional tenets, requires to take measures to ensure accountability to the law, fairness in the application of law, avoidance of arbitrariness and procedural and legal transparency. Whereas in a broader sense, the rule of law is a principle of governance in which all persons, institutions and entities, public and private, including the State itself, are accountable to laws that are publically promulgated, equally enforced and independently adjudicated, and which are consistent with international human rights norms and standards. To ensure the rule of law, it requires living up to the core values of impartiality and independence by judges. Prosecutors equally must be characterised by independence and impartiality for prosecution services. All actors of justice systems, without distinction, ought to support effective adjudication and due process. Obviously, the deficiency in the rule of law leads to losing public trust in the judiciary. President Kagame, in his remarks, underscored the need for free, fair and timely justice so as to ensure that people’s rights are protected. Ensuring protection of people’s rights should be at the forefront of any justice cause. As of now, one of the most intractable challenges of our society is corruption. Here, judiciary must proactively combat corruption which has become a serious vice to socio-economic development. A particular attention must be placed on corruption that appears in both public and private sectors; and in many times, it goes unnoticed and thus unpunished. Therefore, there’s a need to abide by professional integrity. To this end, it would minimise the loopholes to the corruptibility of any sector. All actors of the justice systems, especially judges and prosecutors and lawyers, need to commit themselves to the justice cause. It requires all actors of the justice systems to abide by their respective codes of ethics or conduct, national and international legislation on corruption, international standards relating to the proper discharge of their functions and international human rights law. The quality of justice hinges, first and foremost, on the integrity and professionalism of the justice providers. It is true to say there’s a need for quality justice – as a fundamental embodiment of the rule of law. Though the government has an undisputable responsibility to support justice actors, all actors in the justice system have the responsibility to cement rule of law. Moreover, the primary function of the judiciary is to promote equality and fairness. An impartial justice system requires that judges do not allow their judgement to be influenced by personal bias or prejudice, nor harbour preconceptions about the particular case before them. Prosecutors too must not be influenced by prejudices or stereotypes in the discharge of their professional functions. Accountability of actors of justice systems is an essential element of an independent, impartial, efficient and transparent justice system. And this accountability must be used in line with international standards of due process and fair trial. Preserving and improving public trust and confidence in justice systems’ credibility, legitimacy and impartiality is hugely important. To prosecutors, in particular, prosecution services should be autonomous and prosecutors should perform their functions genuinely and impartially, in compliance with the law and international legal principles, including the fundamental principle of the presumption of innocence. The work of prosecutors is greatly affected when impunity is prevalent. Prosecutors must be in a position to bring cases against anyone without fear or favour. To this end, it would cure legally-related vices of society and contribute to the protection and promotion of human rights. Lawyers too have an onus to contribute to fair, free and timely justice. It goes without saying that they must desist corruption in all its kinds. They have a moral and legal obligation to discharge their duties in an independent manner, desisting from pressure and interference from anyone in the process of justice dispensation. Rule of law is not only achieved by observing the law but also by behaving with professional integrity. Email: frednkusi88@gmail.com

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Judiciary is key to rule of law