Moot Court Competitions were proved to be the ideal tool to prepare future judges

By The Inspirer.

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.

Justice Aime Karimunda Muyoboke was addressing participants to the awarding ceremony of the winners of the 2023 Moot Court Competitions that gathered law students’ teams from five universities in Rwanda on October 13, 2023 in Kigali

He said that while there are some challenges of professional practices in the sector, the moot courts are a very important tool in preparing the future judges, prosecutors and lawyers.

“These competitions help to shape the future judiciary, to witness the professional practice in its reality so as to add on what they have learnt in law school and get prepared for the practice,” Muyoboke said.

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.

In the meantime, law students of the University of Rwanda (UR) and INES Ruhengeri University were respectively declared winners and runner-up of 7th edition moot court competitions on the International Humanitarian Law (IHL).

This year’s edition organised by the International Committee of the RedCross (ICRC)-Rwanda and RedCross Rwanda had a focus on the environment- which is consequently affected alongside human rights  due to armed conflicts, as seen today in Ukraine, Gaza, Syria and Mozambique.

Justice Muyoboke said that it is a new field of law to merge international humanitarian law and Human Rights but both have a direct relation to the environment especially when the behavior of beligilents and weapons used have an impact on the environment.

He commended the moot courts as a transfer of knowledge and skills needed to address current challenges but also raise awareness for human rights and protecting the environment under the IHL which came into existence in 1949.

“Tomorrow you will be sitting in the chairs which judges are seated in. This means that all the efforts, investment, and support should not be worthless because this is being done in partnership with the government and partners to breed better leaders,” Muyoboke said.

The ICRC Rwanda Legal Advisor, Julien Namahoro said that the reason they organise such competitions is to improve the performance of the judiciary especially in upholding the IHL and this has seen some of the alumni grow into national judges and prosecutors.

For example, national prosecutor Dr. Charity Wibabara who was a mooter as a student, a moot court judge as a lecturer of law at the University of Rwanda and now the coordinator of the International Crimes Protection at the National Public Prosecution Authority (NPPA).

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.