Find Legal expertise in Rwanda
- Legal System
- Profession
- Development
Legal System
Rwanda’s legal system is based on German and Belgian civil law systems and customary law. The Ministry of Justice must approve all attorneys who enter private practice. The Kigali Bar Association is an independent body that governs all advocates in the country. Only members of the bar are allowed to argue before a court, although membership of the bar association is not required for private practice. Admission of advocates is restricted to citizens of Rwanda who fulfil the prescribed conditions, but foreign lawyers may provide advisory services. The leading law firms and private practices are primarily based in Kigali.
Profession
Lawyers in Rwanda are known as advocates. The Kigali Bar Association is an independent body that governs all advocates in the country. It was set up in 1995 with 37 advocates. Until this point the legal profession had no regulatory association in the country. In 2012 the Kigali Bar Association listed over 650 advocates, a significant proportion of which were young and female. Only members of the bar are allowed to argue before a court, although membership of the bar association is not required for private practice. Admission of advocates is restricted to citizens of Rwanda who fulfil the prescribed conditions, but foreign lawyers may provide advisory services. The Ministry of Justice must approve all attorneys who enter private practice. The Faculty of Law at the National University of Rwanda is the only public law school in the country. The leading law firms and private practices are primarily based in Kigali. Some of the leading firms include: Cabinet Batware Jean-Claude, Equity Juris Chambers, ENS Africa Rwanda, Cabinet Kazungu, K-Solutions & Partners, Cabinet d’Avocats Mhayimana and Trust Law Chambers.
Development
Information from the World Economic Forum, The Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013
| Value | World Mean | Rank |
Legal rights index | 8/10 | – | 24/144 |
Efficiency of legal framework in settling disputes | 5.1/7.0 | 3.8/7.0 | 15/144 |
Efficiency of legal framework in challenging regulations | 4.8/7.0 | 3.7/7.0 | 17/144 |
Property rights (including financial assets) | 5.2/7.0 | 4.3/7.0 | 34/144 |
Intellectual property protection | 4.8/7.0 | 3.8/7.0 | 32/144 |
