Judges asked to stick to code of conduct

NORTHERN PROVINCE MUSANZE — Judges in Rwanda have been challenged to uphold their code of conduct. Johnston Busingye, the President of the High Court told a meeting of judicial officials that sticking to work code would consolidate and sustain proper judicial leadership. The meeting that took place in Musanze on Wednesday attracted judges, court registrars, and secretaries of three court chambers including the Lower, High and Grand Instance courts from Musanze and Rubavu districts. Busingye said that proper service delivery hinges on good judicial leadership with a vision, character and a mindset geared towards a good brand of justice the country is pursuing. “Judges are not traditional foretellers, they follow written principles, no more excuse for misconduct, respect, and honor should start from self,’’ he said. On the issue of backlog of unfinished cases which is one of the critical issues facing Rwanda’s courts, he asked the judges to set a clear timeframe within which to dispose of old cases. He stressed that the judges should ensure that they complete more cases than new ones they register. He defended the recent constitutional amendments which allow a single judge to handle the appeal cases in the Grand Instance Court and at the High Court, saying that it will be advantageous in terms of speeding up service delivery to reduce the backlog, but also promotes individual capacity of the judges. It was noted that the nature of cases in the third world countries begin as social and end up being legal and this calls for local authorities like local mediators (abunzi), and people with integrity to settle such cases without going to court. Ends