Understandings of International Law in Rwanda : A Contextual Approach

This chapter examines the objectives and practice of the Rwandan national courts, as understood inside the institution. Grounded empirical research is used to examine how Rwandan judges and lawyers have interpreted the work of the national courts. These legal practitioners argued that the national courts have contributed to the transitional period through improving legal education standards, drawing specific attention to substantial domestic legal reforms in 2004. The chapter argues that the national courts’ focus on legal reform in the post-2004 period provides these legal actors with a means of navigating the tensions between international criminal law and international human rights law raised by the practical and political constraints on the courts’ work. In addition, it allows the judges’ and lawyers’ a means of asserting their current capacity to receive cases transferred from the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)