The Institute of Legal Practice and Development (ILPD) aims to serve as a national, regional and continental institute for:

1. Practical legal training

2. Research and development of law in three languages (English, French & Kinyarwanda). The three legal traditions (common law, civil law & customary law) meet at the Institute.

The ILPD is committed to serving the community and has already started to do so through the ‘Maison d’Access à la Justice’ (MAJ). The MAJ of Nyanza is currently housed in ILPD premises.

Vision

The vision of ILPD is to become:

A practical school for all legal professionals in a spirit of excellence, independence and service to the community, drawing from the diversity and richness of the civil and common law traditions.

In short, ILPD has the ambition to serve as “IHURIRO”, a meeting place for legal professionals from within Rwanda, the region, Africa as well as from the rest of the world.

Mission

The mission of the Institute is:

1.     To contribute to the development of justice in Rwanda and the region, through offering initial professional training to persons holding a bachelor’s degree in law, in particular , by offering postgraduate programs for judges, prosecutors, lawyers, bailiffs, notaries, etc. to bring their quality up to international standards;

2.     To offer continuing legal education in order to improve the knowledge and skills of  personnel in the justice sector, in particular by offering training for clerks, criminal investigating officers, mediators and all other personnel dealing with legal matters in different ministries and institutions;

3.     To conduct research;

4.     To contribute to the development and dissemination of the law.

 Excellence in legal practice is what the institute stands for.

Values

ILPD adheres to a set of five values which together define how members of staff work and interact, both within the institute with colleagues and with students and outside the institute with clients and other relevant actors. These values are:

• Justice
• Equity
• Ethics
• Integrity
• Independence

 ILPD attempts to keep these values alive by translating them into day to day functioning and by referring to them in situations where these values may play an inspiring role.