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{
"id": 1132902,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1132902/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Speaker",
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"content": "Hon. Members, I have reviewed the letter by the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs and established that the Chairperson cited two grounds for withdrawal of the Bill. These reasons are- (i) That, the matter being addressed falls within the doctrine of reciprocity among the community of nations, in this case being the member States of the East African Community (EAC) as captured in Paragraph (ix) on Page 19 of the Committee’s Report, which emphasises that “…without mutual and equivalent harmonisation, there should be no reciprocity” with regard to the admission of persons from other East African States to the Roll of Advocates; and, (ii) That, the Office of the Attorney-General and Department of Justice of the Republic of Kenya had, during its consideration of the Petition, submitted that it was in the process of formulating two Bills, namely, the Kenya School of Law (Amendment) Bill and the Council for Legal Education (Amendment) Bill which would, among others, address the concerns of the Petitioners. Hon. Members, before I guide the House with regard to the request at hand, I wish to report to the House that the Petitioners have, by way of a letter dated 26th November 2021, appealed to my Office, objecting to the withdrawal of the Bill by the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs. For the benefit of the House, I have summarised the grounds on which the Petitioners’ appeal is premised as follows: (i) That, the Committee’s decision to legislate in the manner contained in the Bill signifies its acquiescence with their prayers and was arrived at after taking into account the views of the Attorney-General, the Judiciary and the Council for Legal Education, among other key stakeholders in the legal profession; (ii) That, sections 12 and 13 of the Advocates Act had already been passed in the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act, 2012, but were, however, declared unconstitutional by the Court of Appeal in Civil Appeal No.96 of 2014 (Law Society of Kenya versus the Attorney- General and 2 Others) only for want of public participation; and, (iii) That, the matter at hand is solely within the authority of Parliament, being the arm of Government with the exclusive power to legislate and that even in the instances when the courts applied themselves to the matter and granted certain orders in the affirmative, they still referred the Petitioners to engage Parliament to legislate appropriately. Consequently, withdrawal of the Bill from the House is prejudicial as it would leave them with no other recourse. Hon. Members, in considering the request by the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs against the plea by the Petitioners, the right to petition Parliament on any matter its authority anchored in Article 119 of the Constitution is instructive. As stated before, the Advocates (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No.43 of 2021) was introduced in this House following its exhaustive consideration of a public petition. The Bill was not voluntarily introduced by the Committee on its own motion. Part of the argument by the Petitioners was the fact that they had exhausted all options available to them and were left with this House as the competent body of last resort. It was, therefore, their legitimate expectation that the House would address their prayers conclusively. Hon. Members, with respect to public participation, I note that the Committee had invited the public to submit their views on the Bill between 11th and 23rd November 2021. It will be recalled that the courts have also affirmed the mandatory nature of public participation and emphasised the qualitative aspect of public participation and distinguishes it from a mere consultation or a public relations exercise without a meaningful purpose. As I have always stressed, public participation The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}