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Court of AppealAllowedCivil Appeal No. 33 of 1995· [1995] KECA 69 (KLR)

Mwita Merengo v Werema Merengo [1995] KECA 69 (KLR)

Court of Appeal
14 June 1995
JGJ. E. GicheruAAA. M. AkiwumiASA. B. Shah
214 words in judgment
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The bottom line

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Kenya's Court of Appeal ruled that an arbitration award missing any arbitrator's signature is invalid, so informal or unsigned awards cannot be enforced in court.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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The Court of Appeal at Kisumu allowed an appeal against a High Court decision (Mabaluto, J., dated 14 September 1994 in H.C.C. Case No. 330 of 1991) which had upheld an arbitral award. The award had been filed in the superior court on 7 December 1992, but it was not signed by all the persons who made it, contrary to rule 10 of Order XLV of the Civil Procedure Rules. The Court held that this non-compliance was an error of law on the face of the record and amounted to misconduct by the arbitrators. The Court expressly disagreed with the learned judge's conclusion that the award was proper, holding that in the circumstances the award was not proper. The Court accordingly allowed the appeal, set aside the award, and remitted the matter to the superior court for hearing and disposal by that court, with the costs of the appeal awarded to the appellant. The judgment is a single judgment of the whole court, delivered by Gicheru, Akiwumi and Shah, JJ.A., with no separate opinions or dissents. As an appellate decision, its binding proposition is that an arbitral award must be signed by all arbitrators who made it, and that failure to satisfy this statutory formality vitiates the award as misconduct, notwithstanding a first-instance judge's contrary view.

Key legal issues

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01

Validity of an arbitral award not signed by all arbitrators

Holding

The award was invalid: non-compliance with the signature requirement of rule 10 of Order XLV was an error of law on the face of the record and constituted misconduct by the arbitrators, and the High Court judge erred in holding the award proper.

Reasoning

Rule 10 of Order XLV of the Civil Procedure Rules requires that an award be signed by all the persons who made it. The award filed on 7 December 1992 did not bear all signatures. That non-compliance was an error of law apparent on the face of the record and amounted to misconduct by the arbitrators. The learned judge's contrary holding that the award was proper was therefore wrong, warranting appellate intervention.

p. 1

Legal principles established

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  • An arbitral award filed in court must be signed by all the persons who made it as required by rule 10 of Order XLV of the Civil Procedure Rules; failure to do so is an error of law on the face of the record amounting to misconduct by the arbitrators and vitiates the award.

Court orders

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  1. 1.Appeal allowed
  2. 2.The arbitral award set aside
  3. 3.The matter remitted to the superior court for hearing and disposal by that court
  4. 4.Costs of the appeal awarded to the appellant

Authorities

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Legislation

  • Civil Procedure RulesOrder XLV rule 10
On appeal from
High Court of Kenya at Kisii
H.C.C. Case No. 330 of 1991
Jurisdiction invoked
Statutory appeal from the High Court (not stated in the judgment)

Key timeline

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Practical implications

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Frequently asked questions

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Cite this brief

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Cite this brief

Caselaw, "Mwita Merengo v Werema Merengo [1995] KECA 69 (KLR)", Case Analysis (1995). Civil Appeal No. 33 of 1995. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/1995/69/eng@1995-06-14

Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.