KEPSA hosted the Chief Justice Roundtable on the 15^th March 2022 at Nairobi Serena Hotel. The engagement between KEPSA and the Judiciary is aimed at improving the Commercial Justice process in a manner that ensures efficient resolution of Commercial and Industrial Relations Disputes as well as discussing other ways the Judiciary can facilitate an enabling business environment. 

Present at the Roundtable was Hon. Chief Justice Martha Koome; KEPSA CEO Ms. Carole Kariuki; KEPSA Chair Ms. Flora Mutahi; KEPSA Directors Mr. Allen Gichuchi, Ms. Catherine Musakali, Mr. Mike Macharia, Dr. Elizabeth Wala and Mr. Mucai Kunyiha; Members of the KEPSA Governing Council; Hon. Judith Omange – High Court Registrar; Hon. Anne Asuga – Registrar Tribunals & Head of Tribunal Secretariat; Hon. Moses Wanjala – Magistrate, Registrar of Mediation Accreditation Committee & Rules Committee; Hon. Elizabeth Tanui – Deputy Registrar – Commercial and Tax Division; Mr. Long’et Terer – Advisor, Office of the Chief Justice among others KEPSA members.

During her opening remarks, KEPSA Chair Ms. Flora Mutahi noted that the private sector, as consumers and partners of the judicial processes, will continue to work with the Judiciary in incorporating good practices to enhance the quality and efficiency of the court system and support institutions. “We will not only limit our support and engagement to Commercial Justice but will also apprise this great gathering of our efforts towards a peaceful election,” She added.

While outlining the progress of action items from the last Chief Justice Roundtable, the KEPSA CEO Ms. Carole Kariuki noted that KEPSA is exploring areas of collaboration with the Judiciary to enhance governance and economic stability, investing in cutting-edge innovations to enhance justice and global competitiveness. 

Among the key issues the KEPSA CEO identified for action included:

• Support to operationalize the Small Claims Court
• On scaling up of Digitization of Court proceedings and records
• Capacity building of the Commercial Court & Tax Division and Environment and Land Court to train judges
• KEPSA-Mediation Accreditation Partnership (MAC)
• On gazettement of Bribery Act 2016 Regulations,
• Case backlog
• KEPSA participation at National Council on Administration of Justice (NACJ)
• Judges and magistrates undergoing personal issues
• MKENYA DAIMA Initiative
• Instant fine for traffic offences
• I-Whistle for Judiciary

In her remarks, Chief Justice and President of the Supreme Court of Kenya Hon. Martha Koome noted that the Judiciary recognizes the role delegated to it by the people of Kenya and is committed to ensuring that dispute resolution and the administration of justice not only comply with the letter of the law, administrative procedure but also leads to socially just outcomes as expected by the imperatives that weave through the Constitution of Kenya.

Hon. Koome revealed that the Judiciary has been operating with limited resources even though the resource allocation has increased marginally over the past years. Nevertheless, she noted that the Judiciary continues to maximize the limited resources to provide quality and responsive judicial services to the Kenyan public. 

The Chief Justice went on to outline the Judiciary’s Digital Strategy noting that they have a plan to fully automate administrative and judicial functions in a phased manner over the next 5 years. “We are currently at 30% implementation status and the systems that are currently available are the first steps towards this grand dream of e-courts; paperless institution; and systems that are interconnected and which facilitate organizational processes by their ease of use and ability to generate reports including audit reports,” She noted.

Hon. Koome also spoke to the success of Small Claims Courts and the need to establish Large Claims Courts in the Commercial Division of the High Court in partnership with KEPSA and other stakeholders; Judiciary’s focus on the fight against corruption; Judiciary’s plan to capacity build where she invited KEPSA to pay a visit to the Judiciary Academy to understand its scope and the capacity building for Judicial officers; Judiciary’s continued effort in making sure the Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms are embraced. among other issues.

Some of the issues from the plenary session included the need for bi-monthly and/or bi-annual status reports on court users; Chief Justice’s support on the Ruling on single business permit for members; the need to ensure that Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC) decisions are business-friendly and simple; the need to explore possibilities of a circuit Judge system where matters are transferred to Judges who are not busy; Addressing insecurity and insider threat that are key concerns to be timely addressed; and the need to have gender-sensitiveness in the criminal justice system. 

The private sector is keen to continue open and regular dialogue with institutions involved in the administration of justice. It is KEPSA’s common duty to incorporate good practices to enhance the quality and efficiency in the court system and support institutions, and consequently, increase access to Justice. As a way forward, KEPSA committed to the following;

• KEPSA will keep fundraising for the SMALL CLAIMS COURT to ensure its operationalized to the maximum possible capacity.
• KEPSA will continue to support the digitization of court proceedings through the Ajira programme to scale up efforts under Ajira 2.
• KEPSA will further explore Honourable Magistrate Wanjala’s proposal to partner with KEPSA to set up systems to have disputes settled by qualified mediators and only brought to court for adoption. 
• KEPSA will actualize at least two capacity building sessions for judges in the Commercial and Tax division as well as the Environment and Land court within the next quarter.
• KEPSA resolved to keep advocating for uptake of ADR – possible extension of the waiver of filing fees, especially for small businesses.
• KEPSA resolved to implement the Bribery Act and Bribery Act, Regulations 2021 as key to tackling bribery and corruption in the private sector and the justice system.

From the Honourable Chief Justice’s remarks, it was noted that the Judiciary has resolved to:

• Work with KEPSA on Access to Justice because its Mkenya Daima mission is in line with the objectives of the Judiciary.
• Work with KEPSA to inter-weave the factors of production.
• Work with KEPSA on areas of collaboration such as digital strategy (administrative and Judicial function). These need to be automated. Currently at 30% of implementation status.
• Have an appropriate and conducive working environment to discharge its functions.
• Strengthened the cooperation between KEPSA and the Judiciary, especially in technical support (transcription) which has improved the commercial justice sector.
• Commit to improving the business environment to facilitate and cost-efficient and effective resolution of commercial and tax disputes.