The Judiciary is working to strengthen Kenya’s business climate by building confidence in its commercial justice system to encourage investment.
Chief Justice Martha Koome emphasized that the Judiciary’s institutional strategic blueprint, ‘Social Transformation through Access to Justice (STAJ)’, underscores the essential role of the Judiciary in fostering a conducive economic environment.
“By ensuring cost-effective and efficient dispute resolution, we are committed to enhancing the ease of doing business in our country,” said Koome.
Koome spoke recently at a Nairobi hotel during the Chief Justice’s Roundtable with the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA), the Chief Justice highlighted the importance of this annual gathering in recognizing the pivotal role played by stakeholders in improving the judicial system’s effectiveness and efficiency.
Now in its third edition, the Chief Justice’s Roundtable serves as a dedicated platform for open dialogue, enabling the Judiciary to receive invaluable feedback and suggestions from the business community.
Koome noted that these engagements are crucial for forging strategic partnerships aimed at bolstering the judicial system’s effectiveness and efficiency.
The Chief Justice also highlighted significant progress in digitization and automation within the Judiciary. Over the past year, the nationwide rollout of the e-filing system was completed in March 2024, following the initial pilot in Nairobi City County in July 2020.
“Since March 2024, all pleadings and other court documents are now filed online in all our court stations throughout the country,” she said.
Koome explained that the e-filing platform allows cases to be filed remotely, eliminating the need for physical court attendance by litigants and advocates. It also supports remote court fee assessments, online inquiries about case status, automatic allocation of cases to judicial officers, and convenient downloading of case documents.
“Judges and magistrates can draft, edit, and publish rulings, judgments, and orders online, as well as generate individual case statistics and performance reports through the case tracking Judiciary facing part of the e-filing system,” said Koome.
Through the e-filing system, the Judiciary is promoting the integration and interoperability of information systems with other justice sector agencies. The system is already integrated with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, with plans to incorporate other agencies.
“The Judiciary is rolling out a transcription system powered by an artificial intelligence engine to offer transcription support to several court stations, with plans to expand nationwide through the establishment of the Judiciary Transcription Centre. This project, which received significant support from KEPSA during its pilot phase under the Ajira Digital Project, aims to accelerate the transcription of court proceedings,” she said.
Koome disclosed that the cause list portal launched in March 2024 provides real-time access to court schedules, enabling all stakeholders to stay informed about upcoming cases, thereby fostering transparency and accountability. This innovation ensures that justice is dispensed timely and in an organized manner.
Additionally, the Judiciary has introduced the Judiciary Data Dashboard, allowing leadership to monitor, in real-time, the performance of each court and each judicial officer or judge with the click of a button, all from the comfort of their offices.
“Through these initiatives and programmes, we aim to improve Kenya’s ranking and attractiveness as an investment destination by increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of contract enforcement. This will be achieved by reducing the time and cost of dispute resolution through leveraging technology in the administration of justice,” said the Chief Justice.
Koome also urged KEPSA to engage the Treasury for a continued waiver of court fees for filing commercial cases not exceeding Sh1 million, which lapsed on April 1, 2022, after a two-year period.
She added that the Kenya Judiciary Academy (KJA) has been revamped into a vibrant institution of continuous learning and collaboration. “We are positioning the Academy to serve as the regional hub for judicial learning and justice dialogues.”
The Chief Justice highlighted that the Judiciary has partnered with the private sector to build the capacity of judges and judicial officers in commercial courts in areas such as tax laws, insolvency, and mobile technology.
“The Kenya Judiciary Academy will work closely with KEPSA to identify knowledge and resource gaps within the institution to enable a partnership framework that will equip the judges and judicial officers with the necessary skills, knowledge, and best practices to handle and dispense commercial and tax matters within a reasonable timeframe, ultimately enriching commercial justice jurisprudence,” said Koome.
