Rwanda gets second disputes service

The Kigali International Arbitration Center (KIAC) has launched a mediation service for business disputes. This system will be working with the arbitration system that has been in existence. According to Bernadette Uwicyeza, the KIAC Secretary General, they are mainly focusing on offering appropriate and effective dispute resolutions to Rwandans, bringing concerned parties together to reach a negotiation that is appropriate to them.

Records show that Kigali International Arbitration Center opened up in 2011 and commissioned by the Private Sector Federation Rwanda. KIAC started as a center in 2012 for administering arbitration and mediation services, providing facilities and assistance to conduct of the proceedings, encourage arbitration and mediation as means to settling and resolving disputes, promote Rwanda as an international dispute resolution venue among others.

Bernadette Uwicyeza added that KIAC so far has 30 trained mediators who are supposed to sit with Rwanda residents, discuss their problems, hence help them come up with the best way to deal with such problems. The new service will provide voluntary and non-bidding services.

KIAC is interest based and creates options and not all or nothing, it is client centered and not buyer centered plus it focuses mainly on present and future but not on the past. Bernadette Uwicyeza added that this new service is speedy and cost effective, offers a wide range of solutions, and parties have input to outcomes, it is built on trust and provides high satisfaction with outcomes.

Kigali International Arbitration Center has been successful with the first service it offered which is the arbitration service and so far it has dealt with over 20 cases since its start which is considered a great achievement in comparison to other international crime resolving centers.