An interim stay of execution has been directed by the Court of Appeal against the decision of the High Court that had prevented the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) from processing complaints against judges and judicial officers.
The stay is emerging from an application that featured the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) substantially, where they contended that the decision by the High Court was threatening judicial accountability seriously.
The disputed judgment was issued by a High Court bench of three judges and restrained the JSC from processing disciplinary cases in the absence of guidelines. The ruling caused a great stir in the legal circle as many feared that the judgment would practically render the commission’s constitutional mandate ineffective.
Appearing before the Court of Appeal earlier today, LSK requested that the court stay the enforcement of the decision pending the determination of an appeal. Counsel who belonged to the society submitted that the enforcement of the decision would impair the activities of the JSC.
They argued that the absence of regulations could never prevail over the constitutional obligations directly assigned to the JSC by the Constitution of Kenya, especially the role to receive and respond to complaints lodged against the judicial officers.
After weighing the arguments, the appeal court ordered a temporary stay of execution, thus temporarily suspending the ruling by the High Court. The appeal court judges indicated that the detailed ruling would be presented on January 23, 2026.
The stay order has, however, reinstated the powers of the JSC to receive, process, and respond to complaints filed against judges and judicial officers pending the outcome of the legal challenge.
This comes at a time when the commission is under intense pressure. Only weeks ago, the Commission on Administrative Justice (CAJ) gave the JSC an ultimatum of 21 days to put out all the complaints raised against the judges as well as their status on their public platforms.
There are also issues pertaining to the handling of disciplinary matters, and from the records, since the inception of the JSC, 935 complaints against judges have been filed, with many being pending to be finally resolved.
The Court of Appeal’s ruling was welcomed by LSK, who argued that it allows the commission to continue fighting integrity and accountability within the Judiciary. The final result of the appeal case is eagerly awaited as experts say that it may have repercussions beyond measure regarding judicial control and balance between constitutional obligations and control structures within Kenya.
