In December 2014, members of SLS’s Rwanda Legal Development Project (RLDP) traveled to Kigali, Rwanda with Professor Erik Jensen and Rule of Law Program Executive Director, Megan Karsh. Since 2013, RLDP has worked with various stakeholders in the Rwandan justice sector to support the government’s legal reform efforts. The purpose of the December trip was to collaborate with current and prospective partners to identify needs in new areas while following through on existing projects.

During its trip, RLDP developed a new institutional relationship with the Rwandan Ministry of Trade and Industry (MINICOM). RLDP and MINICOM discussed challenges MINICOM encounters while modernizing laws and harmonizing them with Rwanda’s obligations as a member of the East African Community. In response to these challenges, MINICOM co-designed projects with RLDP members John Daley ’16, Nari Ely ’16, Ted Karch ’16, Kimberly Larkin ’16, and Laura Vittet-Adamson, who are now conducting primary and comparative research on Rwanda’s industrial and internal trade laws and competition regulations. They will submit their findings this spring.

RLDP also continues working with the Rwanda Law Reform Commission on a report about statutory interpretation challenges across the Rwandan government and the private bar. While in Kigali, RLDP members supported the Commission’s national stakeholder consultation discussing preliminary findings from the report. Richard Freeman, JD/MPP ’15 co-facilitated the consultation with the Commission’s Chairman and commissioners. Attendees, including representatives from the Rwandan judiciary and major government agencies, addressed challenges they face and shared possible policy solutions. RLDP continues supporting the Commission in finalizing the report and developing policy solutions. Ryne Saxe ’14, Maureen Howard ’14, Lizzy Foydel ‘15, Mari Guttman ‘15, and Laura Sullivan ’15 contributed to early versions of the report.

 Finally, RLDP members met with various legal professionals interested in collaborating with RLDP through research and clerkships. This summer, Artemis Seaford ’17 and Matt Gasperetti ’17 will clerk for Hon. Chief Justice Rugege of the Rwandan Supreme Court in Kigali. Bill Koch ’17 will clerk for Hon. Justice Ugirashebuja at the East African Court of Justice in Arusha, Tanzania. RLDP will continue to support policy research partnerships between SLS students and these and other stakeholders in coming years.