Gacaca court

The Gacaca court (Kinyarwanda: [ɡɑtʃɑtʃɑ]) is a system of community justice inspired by Rwandan tradition where gacaca can be loosely translated to "justice amongst the grass". This traditional, communal justice was adapted in 2001 to fit the needs of Rwanda in the wake of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide where an estimated 800,000 people were killed, tortured and raped. After the genocide, the new Rwandan Patriotic Front's government struggled to pursue justice on such a massive scale, and therein to develop just means for the humane detention and prosecution of the more than 100,000 people accused of genocide, war crimes, and related crimes against humanity. By 2000, approximately 130,000 alleged genocide perpetrators populated Rwanda's prisons (Reyntjens & Vandeginste 2005, 110). Using the justice system Rwanda had in place, the trial of such massive numbers of alleged perpetrators would take well over 100 years during which Rwanda's economy would crumble as a massive amount of their population awaited trial in prison. For this reason they chose to adapt and create a large-scale justice system, which would work alongside the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, in order to heal as a people and to thrive as a country.

In response, Rwanda implemented the Gacaca court system, which necessarily evolved to fit the scenario from its prior form of traditional cultural communal law enforcement procedures. The Gacaca courts are a method of transitional justice and are designed to promote communal healing and rebuilding in the wake of the Rwandan Genocide. Rwanda has especially focused on community rebuilding placing justice in the hands of trusted citizens. However, the system has come under criticism from a number of sources, including the Survivors Fund, which represents survivors of the genocide, due to the danger that it poses to survivors and there have been a number of reports on survivors being targeted for giving evidence at the courts. However, the Rwandan government maintains the success of Gacaca Courts citing their present success as a country.

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