The revised ministerial order determining court fees in civil, commercial, labour, administrative and criminal matters has become the subject of scrutiny from the legal fraternity.
It was after being gazetted on November 2, 2020 that most legal service enthusiasts realised that the article outlining the list of people who are exempted from depositing court fees before filing a case was missing.
Instead, the article was moved and incorporated into the law relating to civil procedure.
Specifically, the law lists three categories; a destitute with a certificate of indigence issued by a competent authority, a child represented by a destitute person and a representative of a child filing for damages in a criminal case related to child defilement as the only ones exempted from paying court fees.
Unfortunately, the list excludes refugees, currently estimated at over 150,000 in Rwanda.
Efforts by the Legal Aid Forum—which has worked with some of them to secure justice in courts of law—have on several occasions hit a snag when they are asked to pay or produce a destitute certificate issued by local authorities before they can offer the service free of charge.
What complicates the matter is that the certificate is offered based on Ubudehe classification, a system that only specifically deals with nationals.
This is not only unfair to the refugees who by virtue of their situation are vulnerable and deserve all the support possible, it is a violation of article 16 of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees signed in Geneva in 1951 to which Rwanda is a signatory that requests that they are accorded free access to courts and legal assistance.
While only a handful of the refugees in urban centres are able to get small jobs and fend for themselves, a large majority of them live in camps where they solely depend on the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) for a livelihood.
Not only is money scarce, the ability to pay charges which fall between Rwf10, 000 and Rwf50, 000 is a distant dream for most, if not all.
The Rwandan justice system has for years been trying to improve access to justice as a crucial tool in combating poverty, promoting peaceful resolution of disputes, and enhancing the rule of law.
The benefits that Rwandans are reaping from this journey towards effective, impartial, and accessible justice should also be enjoyed by our visitors and others who have found themselves in our country not out of choice but out of their need for safety.
It is our duty as a people who have in the past found ourselves in the same position, to do whatever is in our power to make the lives of the ones who run towards us seeking a safe haven easier and less demanding.