A team of three 4th year students from the School of Law of the University of Rwanda (UR) wins the 7th Moot Court Competitions 2023 in International Humanitarian Law (IHL) organized each year by the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross). This year’s theme was: “IHL and Protection of the Natural Environment”. 2nd place went to INES from Musanze District.
The first winner will represent Rwanda next November in Arusha with the winners from each of the EAC (East African Community) countries. It should be noted that UR wins at the Prosecutor level, while INES wins the defense prize. The ceremony takes place in the premises of the Supreme Court of Rwanda, on 13th October 2023.
“The objective of the competition is to promote IHL with the aim of establishing respect for life and the law on the battlefield in times of armed conflict. It is the responsibility of States, universities and society to teach these values to the community, and especially to young people. Respect for life certainly, but also for the natural environment, as stipulated in the 2023 theme. The International Humanitarian Law must be observed in Rwanda, in the region and beyond these borders. We must build strong capacities and knowledge in International Humanitarian Law,” said Justice Dr. Aimé Karimunda Muyoboke, who represented the Chief Justice.
The United Nation Refugee (UNHCR) Country Representative in Rwanda, Ndèye Aissatou Masseck Ndiaye also commended Rwanda’s governance and said that the moot court approach saying will improve existing the government’s and UN efforts protecting and preserving environmental sanity even during conflict and hoped the next competition will tackle refugees.
“UNHCR appreciates the incorporation of education and youth to respect life and the environment. Interest in IHL is a sign that we want to build a better future. Furthermore, crises are at the origin of refugees and displaced people who all have an impact on the environment, while causing deforestation, the destruction of biodiversity and natural resources,”
For the ICRC deputy delegate in the region, based in Kampala, Martin Agure Oguya, the ICRC has received a mandate from the international community to enforce the IHR. The ICRC has been in Rwanda since 1963. It established its permanent headquarters there in 1990. In times of peace, knowledge about IHL is disseminated. To do this, the ICRC works with various partners, ministries, the army, the police, RIB, always to spread respect for the law and life in times of armed conflict.
“The young people who competed in the five universities are the future defenders of law and justice in the countries. The winners represent a recruitment incubator to serve at various levels in the country, as prosecutors, judges, lawyers, defenders of the law,” underlined Martin Oguya.
The five universities that participated in the 2023 DHI competition are: Adventist University of Kigali, UR, ULK, INES-Ruhengeri, and University of Kigali.
The communications officer within the ICRC, Julien Namahoro, recalles that the ICRC works in more than a hundred countries where it organizes each year a competition in senior institutions, on a well-targeted theme, related to the concerns of the planet: water (Sudan), deforestation (South Sudan), etc…
Zula Bagirinka from UR awarded as the best prosecutor (Accuser). While Anthime Respice Igihozo from INES recognized as the best Defender.
Bagirinka Zula is a final year student in the School of Law at the University of Rwanda (UR). She says, “Participating in this competition has taught me a lot about law because I have applied what I have learned at school. This competition helped me to find out what I am capable of when it comes to defending a client or prosecuting a crime.”
Anthime Respice Igihozo is a student at Ines Ruhengeri, Faculty of Law. He says that participating in competitions makes you do research. “When you know you have competition, you research to win, the more you research, the more you gain knowledge. I request every law student to participate in this competition and prepare it and do research because when you have something to say it makes you more confident because you have read it.”
Moot Court Competitions are believed to serve as a proper tool to prepare future judges, prosecutions and lawyers according to Justice Aime Karimunda Muyoboke.
The competitions boost professional standards among young Rwandans whose future carrier is in judiciary, and once they embrace this industry may deliver justice for all and bridge existing gaps in the justice system.
Judicial statistics in 2020 show that there are 318 judges and 235 registrars countrywide, the number that is significantly lower than the volume of cases, and it has, in some ways, led to case backlog and prolonged trial durations.
For instance, the cases increased from 37,116 in 2005 to 91,381 in 2022. This means that, on average, a judge has to handle 49 cases per month.
Rene Anthere Rwanyange
