Global Legal Information

During the period of Belgium's colonial rule, codified civil laws applied only to “white people”, customary law applied to the colonized population, and Belgian criminal law applied to all. When Rwanda's current constitution came into force in 2003, existing laws and customs in conflict with the constitution were declared void. In 2019, Rwanda became the first former colony to repeal all colonial-era laws.
Rwanda now has a hybrid legal system: it has a civil-law history but is making efforts to move toward a common-law system. New legislation follows common-law principles. In a major step toward integrating common-law practices, Rwanda introduced the use of precedent.

The Supreme Court is the highest court in Rwanda, and it oversees the activities of the lower courts and tribunals. The High Court serves as the first-instance court for certain serious crimes.
There are also provincial, district, and municipal courts as well as commercial courts and military courts.