The Judiciary of Rwanda targets to gradually decrease staff turnover from the current 35 per cent to 15 per cent in by2029, according to a new five-year strategic plan, seen by The New Times. This endeavor is estimated to cost more than Rwf28.5 billion over the five-year period. The Judiciary Strategic Plan 2024-2029, which was presented at a workshop held in Kigali on December 27, lays out actions needed to improve human resource management in the judiciary and increase their performance, among other targeted objectives. A study titled “Justice Needs and Satisfaction of Citizens in Rwanda,” which was validated in the same workshop, indicated that in the past 18 years, about 220 court registrars and judges had resigned and others stopped working for the judiciary. Together, it pointed out, they make up 35 per cent of court registrars and judges the Judiciary has on its roster. ALSO READ: New study recommends ways to address judicial staff turnover, case backlog The study by Transparency International Rwanda recommended a revision of salaries and other allowances for judicial staff as one of the ways to address the turnover and ensure retention of court staff. This could improve the situation that makes judges and court registrars leave the judiciary for better paying jobs elsewhere. Implementing policy reforms to address systemic issues contributing to employee turnover will ensure a more stable and experienced judiciary, ultimately improving the quality of justice and building public trust in the legal system, the study observed. Speaking at the event, Deputy Chief Justice, Alphonse Hitiyaremye, said that even though the judiciary had made tangible achievements over the past decades, challenges affecting the delivery of justice remained, especially the increasing case backlog and staff turnover. ALSO READ: Judiciary turns to contractual judges to deal with case backlogs Regarding the phased approach of the outcome indicator to reduce the percentage of staff turnover, the strategic plan targets to lower the current rate to 32 per cent in by the end of June 2025. The staff turnover is projected to decline to 30 per cent in the end of the fiscal year 2025-2026, and 25 per cent in 2026-2027, and 20 per cent in 2027-2028, before dropping further to 15 per cent in the following fiscal year. It indicated that actions to deliver on such an output include implementing staff attraction and retention measures, instill the spirit of excellence and devotion to judicial work by improving the performance contract rewards, and preparing and implementing staff capacity strengthening plan. ALSO READ: Justice: What's new in upgraded integrated case management system? Meanwhile, the strategic plan also targets an improved case management cycle as an outcome, with the reduced number of cases adjudicated per judge per month as one of the indicators. The judiciary targets a gradual reduction in the number of cases judged per month per judge from 24 currently, to 15 in 2028-2029. Again, it seeks to steadily decrease the number of caseloads per judge from the current 52 cases to 30 in the same period. Actions to deliver on outputs include training court leaders in court administration in order to master their respective court performance and to foster excellence in court leadership, training judges and registrars to effectively use digital tools. These tools are the Integrated Electronic Case Management System (IECMS), and Judicial Performance Management System (JPMS) to control case flow cycle in their respective responsibilities, and conducting inspection and monitoring to ensure compliance with standard time and quality given by law and instructions for smooth case management.
