RWANDA Law and Practice Contributed by: Jean Pierre Kesteloot and Penina Ngabire, Liedekerke Great Lakes
2.5.2 Mandatory Insurance Coverage Requirements
cial courts unless the parties have agreed to arbitra - tion. 2.6.4 Summary Judgment or Other Relief A lessor can obtain an interim order pending final res - olution of judicial proceedings if the matter is urgent. The order is issued between four and 17 days from the date of the registration of the application. 2.6.5 Domestic Courts’ Approach to Foreign Laws and Judgments Parties are generally free to choose a foreign law as the governing law of an aircraft lease and to submit any disputes arising out of the lease to a foreign juris - diction. The Rwandan courts will generally uphold the parties’ choice. 2.6.6 Domestic Courts’ Recognition of Foreign Judgments/Awards Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Subject to specific international agreements, foreign judgments are only enforceable in Rwanda after they have been granted exequatur. As a rule, a foreign judgment will be granted exequatur provided that: • the judgment is not contrary to Rwandan public policy; • the judgment has acquired res judicata in accord - ance with the laws of the country of origin; • the applicant provides a copy of the judgment that fulfils all the conditions necessary for its authentic - ity in accordance with the laws of the country of origin; and • the rights of defence have been respected. Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Awards Rwanda recognises and enforces foreign arbitral awards on the basis of reciprocity and therefore only recognises awards issued in countries that them - selves recognise awards issued in Rwanda, which is the case for all countries party to the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the “New York Convention”).
No licensee will operate a domestic or an international air service unless, for every accident or incident relat - ed to the operation of that service, it has: • liability insurance covering risks of injury to or death of passengers, damage to or loss of luggage and cargo; and • insurance covering third-party liability risks. 2.5.3 Placement of Insurance Outside of Jurisdiction Foreign reinsurers are required by the BNR to estab - lish a representative office in Rwanda and to obtain authorisation before starting operations. 2.5.4 Enforceability of “Cut-Through” Clauses Cut-through clauses that are in line with insolvency laws and regulations are enforceable in Rwanda. 2.5.5 Assignment of Insurance/Reinsurance Assignments of insurance and reinsurance are gener - ally permitted in Rwanda. 2.6 Lease Enforcement 2.6.1 Restrictions on Lessors’ Abilities There are no restrictions on the lessor’s abilities to: • terminate an aircraft lease; • re-export the aircraft; and/or • sell the aircraft, provided that the operation is com - pliant with: (a) the terms of the lease; and (b) requirements for irrevocable deregistration and export authorisation. 2.6.2 Lessor Taking Possession of the Aircraft In the event of default, the lessor may take physical possession of the aircraft provided that the lessee has at any time so agreed – ie, if it is clearly stated in the lease agreement. The lessor may alternatively apply for a court order authorising it to take possession of the aircraft. 2.6.3 Specific Courts for Aviation Disputes There is no specific court for aviation disputes in Rwanda. These disputes are referred to the commer -
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