Rwandan judiciary is considering to adopt the alternative dispute resolution system as a move to reduce backlog of court cases, APA learnt Sunday from a judicial source in Kigali.The  judicial spokesperson Harrison Mutabazi stressed that the time has come  for Rwandans to  further embrace the use of this approach of resolving  disputes and conflicts through mediation.

Judicial reports  indicate that  more than 76,300 cases were tried, an increase of 5 per  cent compared to the previous year while  courts are still grappling  with a backlog of 52,950 cases.  

The rise in the backlog is attributed to the Covid-19 outbreak, which halted court business.

In  a bid to expedite the resolution of disputes,  Mutabazi said that  litigants will from now on be encouraged to opt for pretrial conference  and mediation.

Reports indicate that  settling cases amicably  during pretrial conferences increased to 6 per cent last year from 3 per  cent in the previous year, while 897 cases were handled through  mediation.