Certa Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, has launched an ambitious initiative aimed at sharpening the knowledge and skills of Rwandan lawyers to match the ever-changing trends of technology. Dubbed ‘Center for Law and Innovation’, the initiative has a mission to accelerate and “facilitate the coexistence between law and innovation for justice and sustainable development,” according to its founders. Speaking to The New Times, Felix Manzi, the center’s director said they want to prepare the future generation of young lawyers, equipping them with skills that will make them able to move with the evolving technology. The center will promote legal research, foster the exchange of skills and knowledge between local and foreign lawyers, facilitate discussions between relevant local institutions, as well as equipping local lawyers with knowledge overseeing business deals or handling lawsuits that involve new technologies. “We want to train people, especially lawyers, on the new technological advancements and how to speak the same language with the innovators,” he said, adding that there are many new things that are coming up and require lawyers to be up-to-date in order to render relevant services. “There are new concepts like cyber phishing or cyber stocking, for example, which make justice administration really hard. You cannot prosecute something that you don’t know,” he said. “So, the center is here to raise awareness, and educate people about these crimes. The crimes keep emerging. Every day there is a new crime happening based on new innovations. So it is really very important to update ourselves on what is going on,” he added. The center has assembled a team of researchers, lawyers, academics, and internal and external advisors who will work to coordinate discussions with relevant institutions and people, for purposes of research, and training, among other things. According to Florida Kabasinga, the founder of the Certa Foundation, the center has created space for law students and young lawyers to brainstorm different ideas, do research and write papers for law review. She believes that the initiative will produce lawyers that will support Rwanda’s ambitions of having a strong service sector, becoming a knowledge-based economy, and so on. “We want to make sure that while the government has those dreams and policies, we have the capacity to actually provide the legal services that are actually needed,” she said. Kabasinga’s views were complemented by Manzi who reckoned that the research work that will be produced by the center may be of importance to the country, as the findings indirectly provide hints on how new policies should look like. Speaking on the behalf of Chief Justice Faustin Ntezilyayo, Harrison Mutabazi, the Spokesperson of the Judiciary, referred to the initiative as a platform for innovation and initiatives that contribute towards a more just and equitable society. hkuteesa@newtimesrwanda.com
