Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
2015
INTRODUCTION.
In Githere v Kimungu1 Justice Hancox stated that:the relation of rules of practice to the
administration of justice is intended to be that of a handmaiden rather than a mistress and that
the Court should not be too far bound and tied by the rules, which are intended as general rules
Hon. Mr. Justice Robert V. Makaramba, judge of The High Court of Tanzania in his address to
Members of Tanganyika Law Society in 2012 at Arusha noted that2 The inherited common law
adversarial system with its attendant English practice and procedure has always been at the
centre of public criticism for contributing to delays in the dispensation of justice together with its
Procedural laws refer to rules that prescribe the steps for having a right or duty judicially
enforced, as opposed to the law that defines the specific rights or duties4 It was this strictness of
having due regard to the rules of civil procedure that occasioned the loss of many legitimate
1
(1976-1985) EA 101
2
Beria M. Andrea, Dissertation, Dismissal of cases on Legal technicalities Versus Substantive Justice; A critical
analysis of the Court of Appeal of Tanzania Decisions, Presented to School of Law: St. Augustine University, June
2014. Accessed via
https://www.academia.edu/8177022/Dismisal_of_Cases_on_Legal_Technicalities_A_critical_Analysis_of_the_Cou
rt_of_Appeal_of_TanzaniaDecisions on 25th Jan 2014.
3
Hon. Mr. Justice Robert V. Makaramba , Breaking the Mould; Addressing the Practical and Legal Challenges of
Justice Delivery in Tanzania: Experience from the Bench, TLS, February 2012 in Arusha p.7.
4
Elizabeth A M, Oxford Dictionary of law, Oxford University Press, London, 2001 at p.1241
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Stanley N. Kinyanjui. 2015
For the purposes of this paper, the Civil Procedure Acct shall be abbreviated as CPA 2010
Definition.
Michael Howard5 defines Overriding Objective as a principle from the civil procedure rules.
The purpose of the overriding objective is for the civil litigation and dispute resolution process to
be fair, fast and inexpensive. The principle is that each case should be treated proportionally in
relation to size, importance and complexity of the claim and the financial situation of the parties.
The court must consider the overriding objective when they make rulings, give directions and
The double Os in the phrase Overriding Objectives are what coined what is today famously
known as the term Oxygen Principle. In Hunker Trading Company Limited v Elf Oil Kenya
Limited6, perhaps the first case to be grounded on the new provisions of the Appellate
5
Howard Michael, Civil Litigation and Dispute resolution: Vocabulary Series, Legal English Books Publishers,
2013
6
2010 eKLR.
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Stanley N. Kinyanjui. 2015
section 1A of the Civil Procedure Act7 came in to provide facilitation of just, expeditious and
proportionate resolution of civil disputes in Kenya as the overriding objective of the Act. It states
(verbatim) that: The overriding objective of this Act and the rules made hereunder is to
facilitate the just, expeditious, proportionate and affordable resolution of the civil disputes
governed by the Act. Section 1A (2) further gives the courts the power to give effect to the
overriding objective. The courts duties in performing such mandate under section 1B of the
(c) The efficient use of the available judicial and administrative resources;
(d) The timely disposal of the proceedings, and all other proceedings in the Court, at a cost
Art. 159 (2) (b) of the Kenyan Constitution8 propounds that in exercising judicial authorities, the
courts and tribunals shall not delay justice. In the case of Kamani v Kenya Anti-corruption
Commission9 The court went on to consider what was likely to happen if it proceeded to strike
out the appeal, and found that the common experience was that whenever an appeal was struck
out, the appellant would invariably seek leave to file a fresh appeal. This would lead to an
7
2010
8
The Kenya Constitution, 2010.
9
2010 eKLR. The Facts being that the respondent in the appeal, the respondent had applied for the appeal to be
struck out on a technicality. The technical objection raised by Kamani was that some primary documents, including
the hand-written notes of two trial judges, had been omitted from the appeal record. Kamani therefore argued that
the appeal was invalid and should be struck out. Before the amendments, the Court of Appeal had consistently ruled
that the omission of primary documents in the appeal record was fatal to an appeal, which would have to be struck
out as a result.
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Stanley N. Kinyanjui. 2015
increase in the costs pertaining to litigation, as well as a waste of judicial time and resources.
Therefore, the court declined to strike out the appeal, and granted the appellant leave to file a
Administering justice without undue regard to procedural technicalities. [Art. 159 2(d)]10:
Courts have dealt with procedural technicalities and have either dismissed or justified them while
dispensing justice.
In Salmon Ndalo Obede v National Bank of Kenya Limited11, the plaintiff argued that a
counterclaim that National Bank through their lawyer Christopher Kenyariri wanted to amend
was time barred. Reversing a dismissal of the application to amend the counterclaim by Hon.
Justice Martha Koome, the court of appeal ordered for a stay of proceedings in the trial court and
Further, In Kamani v Kenya Anti-corruption Commission12 the court considered the new
amendments which introduced the oxygen principle. The court drew comparisons between
amendments and the Woolf reforms, which introduced similar provisions in England in 1998 by
way of the Civil Procedure Rules. The courts attention was also drawn to the English case of
Biguzzi v Bank Leisure13in which Lord Woolf himself talked about the concept of overriding
objective as follows:
Under the [Civil Procedure Rules] the position is fundamentally different. As rule 1.1 makes
clear the [rules] is a new procedural code with the overriding objective of enabling the court to
10
Supra n.8.
11
2010 eKLR
12
Supra n. 9.
13
PLC(1999) 1 WLR 1926
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Stanley N. Kinyanjui. 2015
deal with cases justly. The problem with the position prior to the introduction of the [rules] was
that often the court had to take draconian steps such as striking out the proceedings
As stated, the court declined to strike out the appeal, and granted the appellant leave to file a
It is, accordingly, clear to us that the amendment to section to 3 of the Appellate Jurisdiction
Act, did not, without more, come in to sweep away well-known and established principles of law
hitherto in place before the said amendmentthe notice of appeal is incurably defective and that
such defect could not in the circumstances we have outlined above, be cured by invocation of
sections 3A and 3B of the Appellate Jurisdiction Act. This to our understanding means sections
3A and 3B of Cap. 9 cannot be invoked as a matter of course so as to excuse all and any kind of
failing on the part of a party to abide by the requirements of the rules made to regulate appeals
to this Court.
Order 8 Rule 3 of the CPR 2010 and Section 100 of the CPA allow for the amendment of
This difference has been brought about by ensuring justice is served to both parties. Where, there
is a conflict of Oxygen Rules Principles with the substantive law, the law shall be interpreted in
Order 3 of the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) 201014 introduced the case tracking system by
requiring Plaintiff, while instituting the suit, to indicate the choice track for the case. The three
14
Civil Procedure Rules 2010, Issued under Legal Notice No. 151, Kenya Gazette Supplement No. 65, 2010.
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Stanley N. Kinyanjui. 2015
a) Small claims: These are cases that refers to a simple claim, involving not more than two
parties and whose monetary value does not exceed Kshs. 49,999/-;15
b) Fast track: refers to a case with undisputed facts and legal issues; relatively few parties; and
would likely be concluded within one hundred and eighty days after the pre-trial directions under
Order 1116.
c) Multi-track: refers to a case with complex facts and legal issues; or several parties and which
would likely be concluded within two hundred and forty days from the date of the pretrial
Pre-Trial Process.
Order 11 of the CPR extensively discusses the purposes of a pre-trial conference. With a view to
furthering expeditious disposal of cases and case management the court shall within thirty days
(2) Help the court establish managerial control over the case,
(4) Improve the quality of the trial with thorough preparation, and
15
Ibid, Or. 3 Rule 3 (a)
16
Ibid. Or.3 Rule 3(b)
17
Ibid. Or. 3 Rule 3(c)
18
Order 11 Rule 3 (1).
19
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Pretrial+Conference accessed on 25th Jan 2015.
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Practice and Procedure Rules, 201320. The parties may, with leave of the Court, record an
amicable settlement reached by the parties in partial or final determination of the case.
Further, Section 59C (1) of the CPA states that A suit may be referred to any other method of
dispute resolution where the parties agree or the Court considers the case suitable for such
referral.
As per the Overriding Objective, it can be construed to imply that the court in its interpretation of
laws and issuance of orders will ensure that the civil procedure shall, as far as possible, not be
used to inflict injustice or delay the proceedings and thus minimize the litigation costs for the
parties. This provision can also serve as a basis for the court to employ rules of procedure that
provide for use of Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms, to ensure that they serve the ends
One advantage of Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms is that it is very cost effective and
expeditious and also flexible depending on the parties. The Oxygen rule facilitates the adoption
of these mechanisms.
The courts are also expected to utilize the technology to facilitate the expeditious aspect of the
oxygen principle. They do this for purposes of quick communication, researching on points of
law of a case, etcetera. Recently, there was a move by the Judiciary that saw the installation of
20
Constitution of Kenya (Protection of Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) Practice and Procedure Rules, 2013,
Issued Under Legal Notice 117, Kenya Gazette Supplement No. 95
21
Kariuki Muigua, Court Annexed ADR in the Kenyan Context, at P.2.
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cameras, microphones and recording devices in the High Courts so as to save time that judges
CONCLUSION.
John Rawlss theory of Justice perpetrated in 1971 clearly observes that there should be the
maximization of liberty, equality for all, and fair equal opportunity22. It is with no doubt that the
Oxygen principle has come to revolutionalise our civil procedure and to tailor it to fit the
22
Freeman M.D.A, Lloyds Introduction to Jurisprudence, 8th Ed, Thomas Reuters (Legal) Ltd, London, 2008 at
p.583-4.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Hon. Mr. Justice Robert V. Makaramba , Breaking the Mould; Addressing the Practical
and Legal Challenges of Justice Delivery in Tanzania: Experience from the Bench, TLS,
Howard Michael, Civil Litigation and Dispute resolution: Vocabulary Series, Legal
Procedure Rules, 2013, Issued Under Legal Notice 117, Kenya Gazette Supplement No.
95.
Civil Procedure Rules 2010, Issued under Legal Notice No. 151, Kenya Gazette
Freeman M.D.A, Lloyds Introduction to Jurisprudence, 8th Ed, Thomas Reuters (Legal)
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