ICTR President Bubacar Jallow was satisfied with the performance of the Rwandan judiciary.
Hassan Bubacar Jallow, former Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and President of the Supreme Court of Gambia, was pleased with the functioning of the judicial system in Rwanda and the strides it has made in technology and alternative dispute resolution.
This was reiterated on May 19, 2025 when Hassan Bubacar Jallow and his team visited the Supreme Court of Rwanda.
It is the second day of the judicial study tour that this group is on in Rwanda from May 18-21, 2025. It began with a visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial.
At the Supreme Court, they were briefed on the structure and functioning of the Rwandan judiciary, in particular, they were shown the IECMS technology system that helps citizens access justice services more easily.
Hassan said that Rwanda has made significant progress in the field of justice, from which Gambia can learn.
He praised the system of specialized courts such as the Commercial Court, the use of judicial technology, and the way justice can be delivered by others, not just judges.
He said, “In Gambia, we are implementing a five-year strategy aimed at improving justice. Where Rwanda is at, we are helping to use technology in fast-track cases, providing justice that is not only based on judges but also on other stakeholders in the implementation of the goals and resolving disputes without going to court.”
He continued by saying that where Rwanda is at in this development of justice, he and the team he leads could learn a lot that they could use in Gambia.
He said, “In the days we have here, we are seeing some of these strategies that we will introduce in Gambia because we have seen that Rwanda has already taken concrete steps in them.”
Hassan, as someone who led the ICTR, said that the International Community was negligent and the Tutsi were subjected to Genocide, but that currently there is progress in providing justice on the part of the ICTR, Rwanda and other countries.
He believes that what the International Community should now prioritize is to prevent the same thing from happening again.
The President of the Supreme Court of Rwanda, Mukantaganzwa Domitilla, said that the study tour to Rwanda was aimed at enhancing judicial cooperation between the two countries and that Rwanda was also ready to learn.
He said, “The President of the Supreme Court of Gambia, with his experience, will discuss with us ways to resolve criminal cases quickly and without taking up too much time in the courts. It is a way in which both the prosecution and the accused have an interest in reaching an agreement and the victim is also taken care of. We have also started it, but it is always good to learn, there is always a place we want to go.”
Mukantaganzwa added that Rwanda will also undertake a study tour to Gambia to learn about the functioning of the local judiciary and that this cooperation between Africans helps in finding solutions that are suitable for the continent rather than rushing to developed countries.
The team from Gambia will also visit the Rwanda Institute of Forensic Science and Technology, the Commercial Court and will also focus on the provision of justice outside the courts.
In June 2025, the team will also visit the Institute of Legal Education and Development (ILPD).
