ABSTRACT
The history of the Rwandan national judiciary with regard to adjudicating those accused of genocide crimes occurred in three distinct periods: (1) the pre-genocide judiciary; (2) the judiciary in the immediate aftermath of the genocide; and (3) the current state of the national judicial system. The historical progression of the courts has involved attempts to address three major issues with regard to the judiciary’s role in the adjudication of the perpetrators of the genocide. The first deals with the lack of legitimacy stemming from the previous history of the courts, including the lack of properly-trained personnel, as well as accusations of corruption and unfair practices. The second issue requires the total reconstruction of the judiciary in the immediate aftermath of the genocide. Despite the efforts to deal with the first two issues, the third issue is the need to accommodate an enormous caseload of genocide crimes resulting from the policy of maximal accountability and the categorization process in the Gacaca courts, whilst still adjudicating ongoing criminal activity in the country.
