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{
    "id": 590800,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/590800/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 100,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Waiganjo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2644,
        "legal_name": "John Muriithi Waiganjo",
        "slug": "john-muriithi-waiganjo"
    },
    "content": "opportunity to be heard on a third appeal. The first appeal is the Magistrates’ Court. A litigant coming with a judgement from the Magistrates’ Court will have an opportunity to be heard in the High Court. If not satisfied with the judgement of the High Court, such a litigant has an opportunity to move to this court. It is, therefore, incumbent upon the presiding judge in consultation with the Chief Justice to make rules and regulations and also to constitute benches that will hear any matter coming before the Court of Appeal. This, therefore, means that the Court of Appeal can make decisions or can constitute a bench of one or at most three judges. The instances under which the bench can be constituted are when such a bench is presiding over a matter concerning Chapter 4 of the Constitution on the Bill of Rights or any other matter that touches on the interpretation of the Constitution. On matters that emanate or go to the Court of Appeal, the Court considers points of law, but does not look at the facts. It is a court that can create jurisprudence, precedents and that is why it is an important court whose decisions can be used and, therefore, it is a court that makes law. Of course, we know the sources of our laws one of them being customary law but, most importantly case law. So, the Court of Appeal is one of the courts that make law. It is an arm of Government and the Judiciary which also makes law, as we do here, and also interprets law. The laws that we make here will go to the courts for interpretation. Where there are conflicts of such law, they are considered at that level. Even the laws that we make here and the law that is made in the county assemblies are subject to the High Court. If a county assembly passes a law that the National Assembly is in conflict with, the law that is made in the National Assembly presides over that other law made within the counties. But, if such a conflict is to go to court, then the court of first instance would be the High Court. Then, after the decision of the High Court and the parties are not satisfied with that decision, the other court to move to is the Court of Appeal. Hon. Speaker, we have instances where the Court of Appeal is final. Litigants from the Magistrates’ Court take their matters to the High Court and then the Court of Appeal. That is why sometimes the Court of Appeal becomes the final court because there are matters that the Supreme Court does not have jurisdiction over, for instance, the matter between the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and the teachers’ unions. When the matter went to the Supreme Court, it declined saying that they did not have jurisdiction and therefore returned the matter to the Court of Appeal. That is one of the instances that show you that the Court of Appeal can become a final court. I support."
}