{The Ministry of Justice has warned government institutions to desist from ignoring the role of legal advisers in their respective departments as doing so usually leads to wrong legal decisions putting the government at risk of getting sued, losing court cases and eventual compensation and attendant financial losses. }
The warning was sounded yesterday during the trimestrial meeting of legal advisers from government institutions who lamented of being marginalized employees.
The introduction of legal advisers among government institutions has increased court cases won by the government from 68% in 2014/2015 to 75. 8% in 2015/2016.
Despite the improvement, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Isabelle Kalihangabo finds that a lot needs to be done to reach zero court cases filed against the government.
Kalihangabo explained that most cases in which the government is accused are related to faults in legal and human resources management deviations especially in land related cases and malpractices in offering tenders.
Legal advisers said the current steps in reducing court cases filed against the government are commendable but reaching the goal is far distant as long as they are not consulted and heard in decision making.
“I often advise managers but my advice sometimes is neglected,” said one legal adviser and district notary on condition of anonymity.
The Minister of State in charge of Constitutional and Legal Affairs, Evode Uwizeyimana urged legal advisers to provide their services in written form as evidence of their considered legal opinion and warned managers against disregarding such advice.
“The main focus of our discussions was to seek ways of keeping away from mistakes that lead to dragging the government into unnecessary court cases. We also discussed how managers will be responsible for losses incurred in lost court cases as a result of their disrespect for legal advice, ,” he said.
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