THE ORGANS

The Gacaca Courts comprise 4 levels of jurisdiction i.e :

- The Cell's Gacaca Courts
- The Sector's Gacaca Courts
- The Sector's Gacaca Courts for Appeal

Each of these jurisdictions has 3 organs :

a. The General Assembly

The general assembly of the Cell's Gacaca jurisdiction comprises all the population of the Cell beyond 18 years of age. The Cell's general assembly will contribute to the reconstruction of the facts by establishing the list of persons :

- Who have been killed in the Cell and the goods damaged;

- Who have participated in the genocide ;

- Who left the Cell where they lived during the war and settled themselves elsewhere ;

- Who have settled themselves in the Cell after the war ;

and give the proof that the suspects or those who are on the list of persons who have participated in the genocide and the massacres are guilty or innocent.

The General Assembly of the Gacaca Jurisdictions of the next higher jurisdiction comprises delegates from the Gacaca Jurisdiction of the next lower jurisdictions. The General Assembly of the Sector's, the District's and the Province's Gacaca jurisdiction comprises at least 50 members according to the law.

b. The Bureau of the Gacaca Jurisdiction

The Bureau of the Gacaca Jurisdiction comprises 19 members elected by the General Assembly.

c. The Co-ordination Committee

The Bureau of each Gacaca Jurisdiction elects among its members 5 persons whose mission is to co-ordinate the Gacaca Court's activities. These persons are: one Chairperson, 2 Deputy-Chairpersons and 2 Secretaries who have sufficient reading and writing skills in Kinyarwanda.

THE FUNCTIONING OF THE GACACA COURTS

The 6th Section of the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Local Administration and Social Affairs (MINALOC) put at the disposal of the Gacaca Courts the infrastructures necessary to their functioning. During the session, the public is allowed to speak provided that permission is granted beforehand. However, the consultation is secret.

The Gacaca Jurisdiction can constitute as many Bureaux as necessary according to the number of cases to judge.

Every judgement must be written and constitute a file in the appropriate register. The files are kept by the Gacaca Court that has judged the case. But, one can foresee the possibility to keep the copies of these files in the other courts.

The Gacaca Court can seek the assistance of Legal Advisors appointed by the Department of the Gacaca Courts.

The General Assembly or the Bureau of the Gacaca Court meets when the Chairperson of the Co-ordination Committee calls for the meeting.

An explanation manual of the law on the Gacaca Courts that explains it in a language which is accessible to the citizens who have not been trained in law as well as a code of practice which regulates the functioning of the Gacaca Courts will be available in each court in the country