Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 939257,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/939257/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 70,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cherargei",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13217,
        "legal_name": "Cherarkey K Samson",
        "slug": "cherarkey-k-samson"
    },
    "content": "of Madbury vs. Madison 1808, the Supreme Court of the United States of America stated that the most important domain in the separation of State power is an independent Judiciary as the guarantor of the rule of law. In Kenya‟s constitutional development, particularly in the 1990s and early 2000, the Judiciary and the Legislature were consistently emasculated and their powers to check the Executive significantly eroded. Of the three arms of Government, the Judiciary‟s role in checking the Executive was most compromised in effect leaving this institution as an appendage of the Attorney General‟s Office. The Judiciary lacked both operational and financial independence. The Executive exercised fiscal control over it. The budget of the Judiciary was a vote under a Ministry that was traditionally exercised by the Attorney General and, subsequently, by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs during the NARC Administration. As a result, the terms of service of judicial officers, their budgetary provisions and related matters were decided by the Executive thus further diluting the independence of the Judiciary. Mr. Speaker, Sir, Article 1 of the Constitution of Kenya states that all sovereign power belongs to the people of Kenya and shall be exercised only in accordance with the Constitution. It further states that the people may exercise this power, either directly or indirectly, through their democratically elected representatives. Sovereign power is delegated to the three arms of Government; namely, the Judiciary, the Executive and the Legislature. However, the three arms of Government are supposed to be independent and to exhibit checks and balances as such. During the constitutional review process, issues that impeded the work and independence of Judiciary were addressed. The Committee of Experts noted that there was need to reinvent the integrity in the system of administration of justice and to inject public confidence in the vetting and work of judges and magistrates. Further, there was need to protect the appointment of judges from political pressures thus resulting in removal of the requirement of parliamentary approval for all judicial appointments other than the Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Constitution of Kenya assures the independence of Judiciary in Article 161 of our Constitution which states that:- “In the exercise of judicial authority, the Judiciary as constituted by Article 161 shall be subject only to this Constitution and the law and shall not be subject to the control or direction of any person or authority.” In addition to this, the Judiciary Fund is established pursuant to Article 173(1) of the Constitution of Kenya. The Fund was established to give the Judiciary financial autonomy and control over financial resources required to fund its operations and not to be under the mercy or control of the Executive or the Legislature. It was thus determined that for the Judiciary to be independent, a proportion of the Government revenue ought to be dedicated to this Judiciary operations and should be payable outside the framework of periodic approvals in addition to Article 160(2)(3) and (4) safeguards the tenure and benefits of the judge. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}