Rwandan judiciary is considering to adopt the alternative dispute resolution system as a move to reduce backlog of court cases, APA learnt Sunday from a judicial source in Kigali.
The judicial spokesperson Harrison Mutabazi stressed that the time has come for Rwandans to further embrace the use of this approach of resolving disputes and conflicts through mediation.
Judicial reports indicate that more than 76,300 cases were tried, an increase of 5 per cent compared to the previous year while courts are still grappling with a backlog of 52,950 cases.
The rise in the backlog is attributed to the Covid-19 outbreak, which halted court business.
In a bid to expedite the resolution of disputes, Mutabazi said that litigants will from now on be encouraged to opt for pretrial conference and mediation.
Reports indicate that settling cases amicably during pretrial conferences increased to 6 per cent last year from 3 per cent in the previous year, while 897 cases were handled through mediation.
CU/abj/APA