Skip to content
AI-generated case briefs sourced from Kenya Law · Not legal advice
Caselaw
AI-generated case brief
Case Brief · caselaw.co.ke
Court of AppealDismissedCivil Application No. SUP 13 of 2015 (UR No.10/2015)

Noor Mohammed v CMC Aviation Limited [2016] KECA 117 (KLR)

Court of Appeal of Kenya
4 November 2016
HOH. M. OkwenguMohamed Abdulahi WarsameM. WarsameFAF. Azangalala
2,488 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
AI-assisted case brief
·~10 min to read original · ~4 min brief

The bottom line

#

Kenya's Court of Appeal refused to let a pilot's private employment dispute reach the Supreme Court, ruling it raised no issue of general public importance.

What this practically means

#

Executive summary

#
This is a ruling of the Court of Appeal at Nairobi (Okwengu, Warsame and Azangalala, JJ.A) delivered on 4th November 2016 on an application by Captain Noor Mohammed for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court and for certification that his intended appeal raises a matter of general public importance under Article 163(4)(b) of the Constitution. The applicant had been awarded compensation by the Industrial Court for unfair summary dismissal by CMC Aviation Limited; the Court of Appeal (differently constituted) upheld the finding of unfairness but set aside the award of 12 months' gross salary (US $108,000), substituting one month's salary in lieu of notice with each party bearing its own costs. The applicant sought certification on issues including remedies for wrongful termination, computation of damages under Section 49 of the Employment Act, and the vindication of labour rights as human rights. Applying the principles laid down by the Supreme Court in Hermanus Phillipus Steyn v Giovanni Gnecchi-Ruscone, the Court held that the dispute was an ordinary employment contract between two private persons concerning purely private rights; the issues the applicant wished to canvass were neither raised nor determined in the courts below; and the application of Section 49 to the facts disclosed no uncertainty in the law. The Court declined to certify the matter and dismissed the motion with costs.

Key legal issues

#
01

Whether the intended appeal raises a matter of general public importance under Article 163(4)(b)

Holding

The intended appeal does not raise a matter of general public importance; certification is refused and the application is dismissed with costs.

Reasoning

The dispute arose out of an employment contract between two private persons and concerned purely private rights. The issues the applicant sought to canvass in the Supreme Court, including general questions about labour rights as human rights and computation of damages, were neither raised in the Industrial Court nor argued in the appeal before the Court of Appeal. Applying the principles in Hermanus Phillipus Steyn v Giovanni Gnecchi-Ruscone, the applicant failed to show that the issues transcend the particular case or bear significantly on the public interest.

p. 5

Legal principles established

#
  • Under Article 163(4)(b), a matter certified for appeal to the Supreme Court must involve questions of general public importance whose interest transcends the private circumstances of the litigants; questions of law intended to be raised must have arisen in the courts below and have been the subject of judicial determination
  • A private employment contract dispute concerning purely private rights does not meet the threshold of a matter of general public importance for certification

Court orders

#
  1. 1.Leave to appeal to the Supreme Court declined; certificate of general public importance refused
  2. 2.The applicant's motion dismissed with costs
On appeal from
Court of Appeal at Nairobi
Civil Appeal No. 199 of 2013
Jurisdiction invoked
Article 163(4)(b) of the Constitution of Kenya (certification of a matter of general public importance)

Key timeline

#

Practical implications

#

Frequently asked questions

#

Cite this brief

#

Cite this brief

Caselaw, "Noor Mohammed v CMC Aviation Limited [2016] KECA 117 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2016). Civil Application No. SUP 13 of 2015 (UR No.10/2015). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2016/117/eng@2016-11-04

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