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Composition
and structure :
Number of
members :
1 president, 1 vice-president, 12 judges.
Recruitment
procedures and incompatibilities :
The President and the councillors of state are appointed by decree
of the President of the Republic with the agreement of the Superior
Council of Magistrature. They have to possess, at minimum, a licence
in law.
The President and the councillors of State are magistrates. The
incompatibilities are the same as for all magistrates : they can
not exercise an electoral mandate, the profession of barrister or
of business man, or any other paid activity.
Internal
organization :
The Council of State is under the direction of the President. It
sits in panels of three judges. The affairs are distributed by the
President amongst the councillors who prepare a preliminary investigation
of the case. When their report is finished, a date is fixed for
the trial and the judgment which will be public.
Publications
:
Annual report (not published) ; publication of articles by members
of the Council in the legal review of Rwanda.
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Court
functions
Jurisdiction
:
The Council of State is competent to hear actions for annulment
against subordinate legislation, decrees and decisions of admininstrative
authorities.
Organization
of the courts system :
The Council of State adjudicates in first and last instance all
actions ultra vires. Lower admininstrative tribunals are not yet
established although their existence is provided for by the constitution
of the Republic of Rwanda.
Powers of
the judge :
The administrative judge has the power to annul an administrative
act. He may not assign damages when declaring an irregular act void.
In matters of electoral disputes, the judge may reverse a decision.
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Advisory
functions
Existence
and extent of an advisory authority :
The Council of State may be seized by the National Assembly and
the Government upon the parliamentarian and governmental bills and
the subordinate legislation.
Authority
and publicity of the opinions :
The advisory opinions of the Council of State are not binding upon
the National Assembly nor upon the Government. But, in most cases,
these organs do take them into account.
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