Subordinate courts (Part 3, Chapter 10, Constitution) include courts of first instance, Kadhi courts, courts martial and any other court or local tribunal established by an Act of Parliament. The High Court exercises control over all lower courts and over persons, entities and authorities exercising judicial or quasi-judicial function, but not over any other higher court. If the plaintiff files a liquidated claim at the same time as another claim and there are several defendants, some of whom do not appear as prescribed, the court shall, on application, rule in the prescribed form against any defendant who fails to appear in accordance with rule 4. The execution of such a judgment and decree may be made against those who do not appear. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the plaintiff may continue his action against the defendants (Rule 5). Kenya`s civilian judicial system is established under Chapter 10 of the Kenyan Constitution of 2010 (the Constitution) and various Acts of Parliament. The civilian judicial system is hierarchical and includes superior and subordinate courts. The objective of case management is to promote the timely resolution of cases in accordance with the overall objective. It also offers the parties the opportunity to settle the case without necessarily going to court. Currently, there are no legal impediments preventing third parties from funding a party`s legal costs in a court case, nor are there any restrictions on the funding agreements that such a party may have with third parties. According to the Code of Civil Procedure, a party may file an interim motion before the main hearing. These requests are not limited to matters of case management, and the parties may also request interim measures.

With regard to settled case-law, the three main criteria for obtaining interim measures are: the party has a presumption boni boni with a high probability of success; they suffer irreparable harm; or, if the court has doubts as to whether the assessment of appropriateness rests with the court that made the order. Courts martial are military courts with jurisdiction over matters arising within the Kenyan armed forces and may be appealed to the High Court. Yes. This mechanism is known as third-party opposition and is defined in Ordinance 1, Rules 15-21 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The order applies only to cases where the defendant claims to be entitled to a contribution or compensation from a third party. According to Article 2, Rule 3, paragraph 4, his plea contains a statement that something has been done or an event has occurred, which is a thing or event the act or occurrence of which constitutes a necessary precedential condition in the case. In addition, the College advocates matters that should be specifically invoked, such as enforcement, discharge, payment, fraud, unavoidable accident, force majeure, any relevant limitation period or any fact demonstrating illegality. Under Order 11, Rule 5(2) of the Code of Civil Procedure, parties to a dispute are required to prepare and exchange a settlement conference brief, which should contain, but are not limited to, expert opinions and relevant portions of the documents relied upon. Therefore, each party may present its individual experts, but in the event of a dispute over the reliability of an expert witness, the court will settle for a neutral expert testifying before the tribunal. Under section 48 of the Evidence Act, when the court has to form an opinion on a particular issue, it may seek the advice of persons who are particularly qualified in that field and called “experts”. Magistrates` Courts are subordinate courts run by different classes of magistrates. Each class is subject to a fixed financial responsibility.

For example, a resident judge may hear a civil dispute in which the value of the item does not exceed 5 million Kenyan shillings, while the jurisdiction of the Chief Magistrate is limited to 20 million Kenyan shillings. The jurisdiction of the Khadi Court is limited to civil cases relating to Islamic law. Parties who wish to be governed by Khadi`s court must profess the Muslim faith and submit to its jurisdiction. After all, courts martial are military courts in which cases involving members of the Kenyan armed forces are heard and tried, with the possibility of appeal to the Supreme Court. 1.2 How is the civil court system structured in your jurisdiction? What are the different courts of appeal and are there specialized courts? Under Rule 3 of Order 7, a defendant may file a counterclaim or set-off against claims made by the plaintiff. A claim for set-off or counterclaim has the same effect as a cross-action in order to enable the court to give final judgment on both the original action and the incidental action in the same action. However, the court may, at the request of the plaintiff before trial, refuse to allow the defendant to rely on it if, in the opinion of the court, such set-off or counterclaim cannot be settled expeditiously in the proceedings pending or should not be admissible. If the claim relates to a liquidated amount and the defendant does not appear by the date fixed in the summons, an application for a decision must be made to the court in the prescribed form. The court shall decide on an amount not exceeding the amount claimed in liquidated terms, plus interest from the date of filing until the date of delivery of judgment and costs at reasonable rates (Rule 4(1)). If the claim relates to both a liquidated amount and other claims, the decision on costs is determined after payment of the other claim (Rule 4(2)). If service is to be effected outside Kenya, Rule 25 of Order 5 requires the applicant to file an application for service abroad in order to obtain permission to serve outside Kenya.

The applicant accepts responsibility for all costs incurred in connection with this service and declares that it considers the applicant to have a significant cause of action. It should also indicate where the accused is found or likely to be found, or whether or not the person is a citizen of the Commonwealth or a person protected by Great Britain. The request shall also state the reasons on which it is based. If the court is of the opinion that the case can be served outside Kenya, it shall grant the request and issue a sealed summons through its registrar. The parties have limited control over the timing and procedure, as they cannot evade the rules of procedure. The schedule also depends largely on the dates available in the court`s agenda, which is often busy. 9.2 What are the powers of your district courts to decide on damages/court costs? 6.1 Is there a specific system for allocating cases in the civil courts in your jurisdiction? How are cases assigned? The use of alternative dispute resolution in criminal proceedings is generally very limited; In fact, the Judiciary Act, Chapter 8 of the Laws of Kenya, provides for the application of African customary law only in the settlement of disputes in civil cases involving one or more of the parties subject to the respective common law. It is also clear that alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, even if they are to be used in criminal matters, are limited to offences and do not apply to criminal offences. The main method of testifying at trial is oral testimony, whether factual or expert. Some civil courts also have videoconferences for witnesses who wish to present their testimony from different jurisdictions.