In the wake of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, in ...

In the wake of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, in which between 500,000 and 1,000,000 Rwandans where brutally slaughtered, the new Rwandan Patriotic Front's government struggled with developing just means for the humane detention and prosecution of the more than 100,000 people accused of genocide, war crimes, and related crimes against humanity. By the year 2000 this number had risen to approximately 120,000 suspects cramming Rwandan Jails and communal jails. From December 1996 to December 2006, the courts managed to try only about 10,000 suspects at that rate it would take another 110 years to prosecute all the prisoners. In order to speed things up in 2001 the Rwandan government introduced the Gacaca court system. The Gacaca courts are meant to provide thousands of smaller courts to relieve the burden of the larger courts. It is inspired by tradition and is a method of transitional justice that is designed to promote not only justice but also healing and moving on from the tragedy. This essay will explore more closely the Gacaca court system and seek to discover whether it is indeed the best and fairest way of dealing with those suspected of committing crimes against humanity during the Rwandan Genocide. This paper will argue that while the Gacaca court system may not meet international standards. It is still the best solution available to Rwanda to tackle the enormous amount of suspects that have come out of the Rwandan genocide.
Following the Rwandan Genocide in 1994, the Rwandan government needed a way to try over the 100 000 people suspected of crimes against humanity. In 2001 the Rwandan government introduced the Gacaca courts system to tackle this problem. Originally, the Gacaca settled village or familial disputes. The courts were an informal means of solving disputes within the village; they mostly pertained to issues like theft, marital issues, land rights, and property damage. They were constituted as village assemblies, presided by the village elders and each member of the community could request to speak. These trials were meant to promote reconciliation and justice of the perpetrator in front of family and neighbors. Well respected elders, known as Inyangamugayo played the role of judges and were elected based on their honesty by the people of the community. Thus Gacaca courts are system of grassroots legal bodies inspired by tradition power structures. In relation to genocide, the Gacaca process does much the same thing it provides settlement, emphasizes the importance of accord and condemns the guilty. In keeping with tradition the Court is presided over by nine elected village elders.
The Gacaca courts are designed to provide many small courts in order to relieve the burden on the larger Rwandan courts and thus speed up the process of trying the tens of thousands suspected of committing crimes against humanity. In these courts defendants are charged with acts against humanity and tried in a public trial. In these trials ...