Court of Appeal (Organization and Administration) Act

The Act may be cited as the Court of Appeal (Organization and Administration) Act.

Section title: Interpretation; mentions the President of the Court.

The Court must develop jurisprudence that respects the Constitution and responds to Kenya's social, economic and political needs.

If the President of the Court is absent or the office is vacant, the Chief Justice must appoint one of the presiding judges in Nairobi to act as President for up to twenty-one days.

The Chief Justice must make rules for conducting the election of the President of the Court; when the office is vacant the Chief Registrar must convene all judges within fourteen days to elect a President; the President serves one non-renewable term of five years.

This section concerns the election of the Court's representative to the Judicial Service Commission.

Section 13 lists functions of the President of the Court, including overseeing court administration, allocating cases and constituting benches, giving general directions (with the Chief Registrar), issuing practice directions, developing guidelines, approving judges' leave, determining sitting locations (with the Chief Justice), and maintaining the Court's honour and dignity; if the President is absent, the senior most judge at the Office of the President exercises those functions.

The Office of the President of the Court must be located in Nairobi.

The President of the Court may be removed by a vote of more than half of the judges; judges may initiate removal by written notice signed by at least one-third of judges; the President must respond within 14 days; the Registrar must circulate the response within 7 days; the Chief Justice may make rules for the procedure.

The Court is constituted by the President of the Court and not less than twelve judges; the Court is deemed duly constituted despite any vacancy; and the Commission may conduct judicial needs assessments and recommend numbers of judges.

The Court must exercise the jurisdiction conferred on it by Article 164(3) of the Constitution.

The Chief Justice may establish stations (in consultation with the President) and determine numbers of judges; a Deputy Registrar must be responsible to the presiding judge for administrative functions.

The President of the Court may, after consulting the Chief Justice, organize the Court into divisions for specialized and expeditious disposal of appeals; when a division is established it must be headed by its senior most judge.

The Presiding Judge oversees the administration of the Court at that station.

Specifies the order of seniority among judges (President, presiding judges, other judges) determined by appointment dates; ties decided by order in instrument; the senior-most judge presides at a session unless the President is sitting.

For courts sitting outside Nairobi, the presiding judge responsible for that court must exercise the powers vested in the President of the Court (with necessary modifications); and when doing so the presiding judge must be responsible to the President of the Court.

The Court may establish committees to manage its affairs and to promote the welfare of judges and staff.

The President of the Court must determine where the Court sits in consultation with the Chief Justice; the Chief Justice may direct how the notification of that location is made; the Court may still dispose of business even if the location has not been notified.

Section 19 establishes a registry of the Court in Nairobi, provides for sub-registries outside Nairobi and elsewhere the Court may determine, and requires the Registrar to put in place reasonable measures to ensure registries are adequately facilitated.

Defines the offices of Registrar and Deputy Registrars and sets duties for the Registrar and Deputy Registrars, including stationing the Registrar in Nairobi, assistance by a Deputy Registrar, deputising in the Registrar's absence, performance of functions assigned by the Registrar, and responsibility for sub-registries.

Qualification: served for at least eight years as a professionally qualified magistrate.

The Registrar must perform the listed administrative and registry functions for the Court.

The Commission shall appoint such number of staff as may be necessary for the effective discharge of the functions of the Court.

The Registrar must prepare annual expenditure estimates and submit them to the Chief Registrar at least three months before each financial year; the Chief Registrar must take reasonable measures to ensure the Court is facilitated to discharge its functions.

The Chief Justice approves the design of the Court seal; the Registrar keeps the seal in custody and determines in writing which Deputy Registrars or other officers keep duplicates; duplicates are kept by those Deputy Registrars or officers.

The President of the Court must, in consultation with the Chief Justice, determine how the Court's business is conducted during the Court recess; the section also specifies three Court recess date ranges.

Transfers of judges must be in accordance with an administrative policy determined by the Commission.

The Court must exercise its jurisdiction following rules of practice and procedure prescribed by written law.

Section 29 lists case management functions (case management; automation of court records and business processes; protection and sharing of information; promotion of ICT) and permits the Chief Justice to make rules to implement the section.

The Registrar must maintain a uniform court record-keeping system; the Chief Justice may make rules and issue directions to implement this section.

The presiding judge must, after consulting the Commission, oversee a performance management system for judges including contracting, appraisal and evaluation, in accordance with the Constitution, this Act and other law.

Every judge of the Court must sign and ascribe to the Judicial Code of Conduct; the presiding judge must monitor compliance with that Code by judges and judicial officers.

English and Kiswahili are the official languages of the Court; the Court must facilitate use of other languages for parties in appropriate cases and may direct use of electronic communication for proceedings.

Judgments must be prepared, signed, dated and delivered as prescribed; a minority opinion of a judge must be signed and dated and need not be pronounced in open court unless parties demand.

Section 35 has been deleted by Act No. 46 of 2016, s. 40.

The Court must ensure reasonable access to its services throughout the Republic.

Judges, judicial officers, and court officers executing lawful process are exempt from civil suit for acts done in discharge of judicial duty or in executing warrants/orders, subject to the Constitution and good faith.

The Chief Justice may make rules for the better administration and organization of the Court, including specific matters listed in subsection (2).

The Chief Justice must prescribe a code of conduct for judges within six months of the Act's commencement.