Justice minister advises legal officials on contracts

SOUTHERN PROVINCE HUYE — The Justice Minister and Attorney General has urged Rwandan legal officials to enhance their capacity in formulating administrative contracts, in order to be able to negotiate government contracts. Tharcisse Karugarama said that in the past, government has signed contracts where it had no hand in their preparation. He said that this sometimes creates problems during the implementation phase. Karugarama was on Monday July 7 opening a five-day seminar on contract formulation in Huye district. The seminar, the second of its kind within a space of one month is being attended by 25 legal officers from different government Ministries and other institutions. “We should not rely on contracts made for us by foreigners but rather have our own legal officials to take part in the formulation of such contracts. This will build confidence in all parties involved,” he said. “We are building your capacities through this seminar. In future you will be required to give assent to any contract entered into by government. Doing so requires enough knowledge on the formulation of such administrative contracts,” he added. Karugarama said that government in the past has lost many court cases as a result of poor contract formulation by legal officers in government ministries and other government institutions. He explained that if contracts are properly formulated in the various government Ministries and other Institutions, the workload for the Ministry of Justice will be greatly reduced. The Justice Minister observed that having knowledgeable legal officers in contract formulation ensures protection of investors and boosts investment in the country. During the workshop, participants will be trained on international and national administrative contract formulation, execution and follow up. The seminar is being facilitated by legal experts from Rwanda and Belgium. It was organised by the Institute of Legal Practice and Development in conjunction with the Belgian Embassy. According to Isabella Karuhangabo, the Deputy Attorney General, training of government legal officials is geared at “protecting government from losses accruing from poor contract formulations.” Meanwhile, Karugarama told participants that the backlog of cases tried in courts are set to decrease when mechanisms put in place at the lower levels take root. “We are going to strengthen the committees of mediators at the Cell level by giving them the necessary training. We are also setting up Justice Access bureaus in every district. These initiatives will see a reduction on cases coming to courts and a speedy trial of cases already in court,” said Karugarama. “The principle is to ‘foreclose down’ and ‘redeem up’ so as to have a durable and manageable case load,” he said. Ends