Prof William Kosar recently spent 2 years in Rwanda working with the Ministry of Justice to build the capacity of Rwandan Government Lawyers to negotiate and draft international contracts.
3. Mandate
• To build the capacity of Government
of Rwanda (“GoR”) lawyers to
negotiate and draft domestic &
international contracts and treaties
• Design templates & standard
contracts for GoR use
3
4. Overview
• Training provided initially to Legal
Advisory Service of the Ministry of
Justice
• Later expanded to all Government of
Rwanda lawyers
• Specialised training in energy-related
contracts for EWSA
• Specialised workshops in ADR, etc.
• Future trainings for P/Ss & other budget
officers
4
5. Previous trainings
• Trainer has done similar trainings in
Afghanistan (judiciary), South Sudan
(government lawyers) and Kuwait
5
7. By the end of the course, participants
understand:
• contract theory
• intercultural
communications
• specialized contracts e.g.
international sales of
goods, construction
contracts, foreign
investment agreements,
treaties, public private
partnerships
• Alternative Dispute
Resolution
methodologies &
techniques
• WIN: WIN theory
of negotiation
• Negotiate a multi-
party contract
7
8. Topics include
• MOUs
• Sale of Goods
• Treaties
• RTAs
• ADR
• PSA
• PPPs
• Public
Procurement
• Bid Rigging &
Corruption
• L/Cs
• PPAs &
Interconnect
Agreements
• Privatisation
• Construction
contracts
• role of engineer
8
9. Negotiation Training
• Day long course on the theory including
a short multicultural simulation
• Preceded by training in leadership &
team building (1 day) and Inter-Cultural
Communications (1/2 day)
• Followed by day long simulation
• Simulations tailored to audience
• FDI
• New Constitution
• Water Pipeline
• Power Purchase Agreement between Utility & IPP
9
10. 10
• Language Barriers
• Different levels of prior legal education
• Attendance
• Tardiness
• Competing trainings (some offering
better perks)
Challenges
11. 11
• Plan for language barriers using
tri/bilingual PowerPoint slides
• Utilise multilingual participants to
explain to others, lead discussions
• Start trainings early in day before
participants get a chance to go to work
• Week long retreats upcountry have
better attendance record
• 20+ participants vs. 5 or 6
Lessons learned/
Recommendations
12. Prof. William Kosar’s Profile
• 27+ years as commercial lawyer &
professor of law in many post-conflict
environments
• Experienced trainer
• Author of 2 textbooks on commercial &
trade law
• Widely published on construction &
investment law
• Candidate fellow of Chartered Institute
of Arbitrators
12