JUSTICE MOHAMMED IBRAHIM’S OPENING REMARKS DURING
THE LAW SOCIETY OF KENYA’S LEGAL AID WEEK 2016 AT
MILIMANI LAW COURTS, NAIROBI ON THE 26th OF SEPTEMBER
2016.
THEME: “Improving Access to Justice through Alternative
Dispute Resolution”
It is an honour for me to have been invited here today to officiate and to
deliver these opening remarks at this year’s Law Society of Kenya Legal
Awareness Week 2016.
I commend the LSK leadership for organizing
this event countrywide. This event enables thousands of Kenyans to
receive free legal assistance. On my part I consider this Legal Awareness
Week as a crucial form of legal aid.
The Legal Awareness Week should be a forum to showcase the
numerous ways in which lawyers in this Country can make a difference
in the lives of people who have limited resources, this is because the
litigants need empowerment to benefit from the justice system. We need
to empower and capacitate the ordinary person to be the master of his or
her own destiny in searching for justice. The public needs Legal
assistance, to meaningfully engage and effectively make use of the legal
system and to enjoy the full breadth and freshness of the Constitution of
Kenya 2010 which guarantees the various rights to a fair trial.
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Lawyers stand as the face of justice to most litigants for whom the
Courts and their procedures are an alien figure. As a consequence,
lawyers have the onus of taking forward the principles of justice
engraved in the Constitutional scheme. It is popularly said that
knowledge is power and knowledge of laws is empowerment. Lawyers are
the vibrant channel in this empowerment mission, and should endeavor
to be the voice of the voiceless to be heard and to get their grievances
redressed.
At the same time, we must also remember that the overall objective of
providing legal education is not only that of ensuring access to remedies
but also to prevent disputes in the future. One strategy for preventing
disputes is to improve awareness about legal rights and remedies, so that
individuals can safeguard their interests in the course of their routine
lives in that regard the Legal Awareness Week plays a crucial role in
educating the masses and for the Judiciary our clients the litigants who
visit our Courts.
I have noted that the theme for this event is “Improving Access to
Justice through Alternative Dispute Resolution “I must say that this
theme fits well in response to the urgent need to address the injustice
and delays in the administration of justice which the public often endure
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while using litigation as the main avenue for settling disputes system in
Kenya.
With the enactment of the Constitution in 2010, the dream of realizing
access to justice has become more evident than ever before. The
constitution creates various avenues for enhancing access to justice in
Kenya. There are now several provisions specifically providing for access
justice, public participation, ADR and traditional dispute resolution
mechanisms.
Under article 159(2)(c) of the Constitution, it is provided that alternative
forms
of
dispute
resolution
including
reconciliation,
mediation,
arbitration and traditional dispute resolution mechanisms shall all be
promoted as long as they do not contravene the Bill of Rights and are not
repugnant to justice or inconsistent with the Constitution or any written
law. The scope for the application of Alternative Dispute Resolution has
also been extensively widened by the Constitution since Article 189 (4)
states that national laws shall provide for the procedures to be followed
in settling intergovernmental disputes by alternative dispute resolution
mechanisms, including negotiation, mediation and arbitration. Indeed
these provisions indicate that there is a Constitutional basis for the
application of ADR in dispute resolution in Kenya, and where ADR is
applicable then there is a real possibility of enhancing access to justice.
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Access to Justice is a fundamental right recognised in most advanced
jurisdictions. It can be easily impeded by various factors such as case
backlog, high costs of litigation, frequent adjournments, etc. One of the
ways of enhancing access to justice is through the use of ADR, Mediation
and Arbitration in particular. In my view the advantage of ADR lies in the
fact that unlike litigation, the parties themselves play an active role in
the dispute resolution process. It is therefore incumbent upon all of us
the Bar and the Bench and other like-minded stake holders to endeavour
to popularize ADR in Kenya.
I am confident that this Legal Awareness Week shall avail the
participants an opportunity to assess the current state of affairs in the
fields of provision of legal services and ADR.As a logical consequence of
the above, I would propose that this week long exercise should result in
the collection or recording of appropriate data that would warrant a
recommendation for the way forward in our joint efforts to ensure the
realization of access to justice.
I would also like to extend my sincere gratitude to all the outstanding
legal minds taking part in this exercise and to everyone who has a role in
the success of this exercise, this is a noble cause.
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With these few remarks it is now my pleasure and honour to declare the
Law Society Legal Awareness Week 2016 underway.
Thank you for your kind attention!
JUSTICE MOHAMMED IBRAHIM
ACTING PRESIDING JUDGE, SUPREME COURT OF KENYA
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