Judiciary.go.ke

REPUBLIC OF KENYA
THE JUDICIARY
KEYNOTE ADDRESS OF THE DEPUTY CHIEF JUSTICE AT THE
ELECTORAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION TRAINING FOR COURT OF
APPEAL JUDGES ON 29TH JULY, 2013
Hon. Chair of the Judiciary Working Committee on Election My sisters and brothers, let me begin by telling you how much I miss this Court. Not that I do not value and appreciate my current appointment, but I often get wistful about the many friendships and great collegiality that I greatly enjoyed during my time in the Court More importantly, I miss this Court because of the special role that the Constitution and the law confer upon it. Although the Supreme Court, where I now sit, is the apex court, this the final forum for Since last year, the Chief Justice and the entire Judiciary has been seized of the potential administrative crisis of resolving electoral disputes timeously. The Judicial Working Committee on Elections Preparations has worked tirelessly, planning ahead and facilitating training and other arrangements – as result, we are on course to complete all election petitions within the next month, well ahead of deadline. Any appeals from these decisions must also be concluded The Supreme Court has already set a precedent in determining the first ever presidential election petition within what seemed like an impossible deadline. The High Court had already set very high standards in determining the election date and resolving the dispute over the delimitation of boundaries. The Court of Appeal also contributed to this speedy delivery of justice in the election date last year by setting down importance jurisprudence. This is the role the Court of Appeal must continue to play. Judges are mandated by the Constitution to ensure access to justice to all. They serve as the ultimate guardians of democracy by protecting the voting process and upholding election laws with As judges, we may differ in our opinions, hold different ideological positions and rely on different well honed judicial instincts, given our diverse backgrounds and professional experiences. Still, the rule of law requires us to seek and foster a culture of coherence in our judgments. Trainings such as these, therefore, give judges the same tools and bind them to a common interest: to build their capacity as Judges to effectively and efficiently resolve all electoral Allow me to conclude my remarks by quoting Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States, who said: “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.” This, in my humble opinion, encapsulates the essence of election dispute resolution. It is not reasonable to expect every judge, on reaching a certain age, to become magically transformed -- on taking the judicial oath – into being able to hold judicial office, let alone resolve election disputes. In order to answer the call of the Constitution, we need to strengthen and deepen judges’ skills. The Constitution now demands more of the role of a judge, and growing public scrutiny and awareness of human rights, demand a higher standard. Trainings such as these provide an opportunity to do just that. Better trained judges mean better judges. Better Judges are, in turn, better available to fulfil their judicial function, and it does no harm to remind ourselves from time to time of what that is. It is a great privilege for me to open this training workshop on election dispute resolution. I congratulate the Judiciary Working Committee on Election Preparations, under the leadership of my brother, Hon. Justice Ibrahim, and the Judiciary Training Institute for their outstanding work in building capacity to address election disputes in a free, fair and impartial manner. I sincerely wish to thank each and every one of you for attending this training and I wish you all the best in this important workshop. Honourable Lady Justice Kalpana Rawal, CBS
DEPUTY CHIEF JUSTICE & VICE PRESIDENT OF THE
SUPREME COURT OF KENYA

Source: http://www.judiciary.go.ke/portal/assets/files/DCJ%20speeches/DCJ%20Speech%20at%20EDR%20Training%20July%2029%202013.pdf