Parliament is expected to open its first ordinary session for the year, today, with stacks of legislation to study, review and approve. Among the expected draft laws to be discussed include that establishing Court of Appeal, amendments to organic laws establishing and governing function of the High Court and mandate of the Supreme Court, among others. In one week, lawmakers in the Lower House are expected to approve the relevance of at least seven draft laws. The proposed appellant court is expected to come into force to hear appeals from High Court. In a statement, Parliament, yesterday, said both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies are expected to carry out 20 activities, mainly related to legislation, presentation of field outreach reports, parliamentary diplomacy reports, and assessment of various petitions. In October, last year, Cabinet resolved that a Court of Appeal should be instituted to slash the backlog of cases at the Supreme Court and to fast-track justice delivery. At the time, the State Minister for Constitutional Affairs, Evode Uwizeyimana, told the media that the court’s functions would make it flexible for the Supreme Court to exercise particular mandate, which is to handle high profile cases and provide guidance to its subordinate courts. The other core mandate on which the Supreme Court will now concentrate is the interpretation of the Constitution. Speaking to The New Times yesterday, Deputy Speaker Abbas Mukama said that the weight of the draft laws might put lawmakers on pressure to fast-track the expected results. “The laws are about three of the biggest judicial institutions in the country, we might sometime have to forego weekends and or work in nights, because we can’t afford not to pass these laws on time. Delays would be costly and would mean delayed justice,” he said. Last week, the Lower House called for an extraordinary session to scrutinise Bills that would see former Rwanda Natural Resources Authority split into three bodies on the management of oil, gas, mines, land management and forestry. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
