Rwandan lawyers warn on court fees
By ROBERT MBARAGA Special Correspondent
Posted Saturday, February 1 2014 at 13:47
A recent Cabinet meeting approved a Ministry of Justice proposal to
amend the ministerial order on court fees in civil, commercial social
and administrative matters as well as criminal matters.
Many complainants will be denied access to justice in Rwanda if the
proposed increment in court fees is implemented as it is, lawyers have
warned the government.
A recent Cabinet meeting approved a Ministry of Justice proposal to
amend the ministerial order on court fees in civil, commercial social
and administrative matters as well as criminal matters.
Increment 'unfortunate'
Justice Minister Johnston Busingye told a post-Cabinet press
conference that the fees will be raised more than ten-fold.
"Lodging a complaint in the primary court was Rwf2,000 but with the
new order it will be Rwf25,000," he said.
According to the minister, the cost of lodging a complaint in the High
Court will rise from Rwf4,000 to Rwf50,000 while fees deposits in the
High Court and the Commercial High Court will be increased to
Rwf75,000 from Rwf6,000.
The yet-to-be published ministerial order provides that a complainant
will have to deposit Rwf100,000 to lodge a complaint in the Supreme
Court, from the current Rwf8,000.
The changes have raised concern among legal practitioners and civil
society organisations with some labelling them unfortunate in a
country striving to make access to justice a universal privilege.
"This can make access to justice impossible for some people," said
Moise Nkundabarashi, a lawyer in Kigali. "Changing the fees from
Rwf2,000 to Rwf 25,000 and above sounds unreasonable."
The ministry however argues that the amendment aims at updating the
current court fees, which it says are no longer appropriate given the
cost of rendering justice.
"Every summoned witness is given Rwf5,000 a day and this is deducted
from the said fees," Mr Busingye said. "We believe the new charges are
below half of the cost incurred in each case.
"The rest will be covered by the government."
Nevertheless, critics maintain that this should take into
consideration the socio-economic situation of an average Rwandan.
Cannot afford
"Even in the current state where the prescribed amounts are believed
to be affordable, we still have peopled who cannot afford court fees,"
said a primary court judge who asked not to be named.
http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/Rwanda/News/Rwandan-lawyers-warn-on-court-fees-/-/1433218/2168950/-/13nvoyfz/-/index.html
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