The newly established Commercial High Court (CHC) will be sitting four days a week to hear various commercial litigation, according to one of the court’s senior officials. Benoit Gatete, the court’s vice president, said that it will be sitting from Monday to Thursday. Each judge will have to prepare and render verdicts of three cases every week minimum, he said in an interview at the court’s headquarters in Remera. The CHC held its initial hearing on Monday, while the Nyarugenge Commercial court, with which they share the venue started last week. At least 15 cases were heard by three different judges yesterday. Over 600 commercial litigations have been received by the CHC from different courts around the country while in total, 3,300 disputes were referred to Commercial Courts following their establishment. Apart from the CHC, there are three commercial courts countrywide; Nyarungege, Musanze and Huye commercial courts which are equivalent to a court of higher instance. The CHC is equivalent to the High Court and commercial disputes that are valued at over Frw20 million and appeals from the lower courts. The Commercial Courts were established by an organic law that was promulgated early this year. An exception of these courts is that they accommodate foreign judges on their benches. Currently there are two judges from Mauritius, one of them being the President of the Commercial High Court. Earlier, Chief Justice Aloysia Cyanzayire had said that they would outsource at least seven more foreign judges to help local ones in the running of these courts, saying they would be on a contractual basis for not more than three years. Ends
