"Gacaca" trials could undermine justice standards

Amnesty also called on the Rwandan government to amend its draft law on the grassroots "gacaca" system of holding trials to ensure that standards of justice "are not further undermined", the report said. The system would be loosely based on what the authorities describe as a traditional system of justice involving the local population in trying people accused of
participation in the 1994 genocide. Amnesty said it remained concerned that the accused in the gacaca trials would not be allowed representation by a defence lawyer, and that those judging the cases would have no legal training or may have a personal interest in the verdict. It also said some
aspects of the gacaca proposals did not conform to basic international standards for fair trials guaranteed in international treaties ratified by Rwanda.