Government turns the tide on losses in court cases

About four years ago, the Government was losing up to a whopping 70 per cent of all the court cases in which it was the defendant. However, recent indications show that that is no longer the case with the figures having reversed and now Government losing only about 30 per cent of such cases, the Minister for Justice and Attorney General said yesterday. Johnston Busingye was speaking at the opening of a training workshop on civil litigation for state attorneys, in Kigali. In the last few years, he said, the Government has put a lot of effort in building the capacity of its attorneys and improving collaboration between the latter and statutory agencies, thereby improving the quality of representation of Government in courts. Two years ago, Busingye said, the Government would lose an average of Rwf1 billion in lost court cases annually, but this figure has since come down to Rwf180 million. “This achievement did not come overnight,” he said, urging for further improvement in the performance of state attorneys. He asked them to work more closely with all public institutions to avoid unnecessary losses as far as such court cases are concerned, challenging them to further improve the win ratio to over 80 per cent. “Government should not lose cases due to lack of skills on our part or failure to observe procedure,” the minister said. This, he added, would discourage many from dragging Government to court. Most of these cases are related to property compensations and damages. “Your role is to give public institutions the best advice in line with the law, let’s avoid mistakes that attract litigation against the Government,” the Attorney General added. He blamed the past state of affairs to the mentality that state-owned resources had no definite owner, adding that the situation had changed in recent times. Busingye also urged state attorneys to steer clear of corruption and to embrace integrity, specifically warning them against conniving with unscrupulous elements who may seek to defraud Government even through courts of law. Theophile Mbonera, the Head of Legal Services Department and Principal State Attorney at the Ministry of Justice, said most of the cases involving the Government were related to land, laid-off workers and public tenders. He said that, on average, 500 cases were being filed every year, with about half of them subsequently being heart in court. Mbonera also said the State had recovered Rwf210 million in property related court cases over the last three years. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Government turns the tide on losses in court cases