Registered Trustees Kenya Railways Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme v Chairman Rent Restriction Tribunal; Simon O Godia & 98 others (Interested Parties) [2019] KECA 286 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Court of Appeal confirmed that even interim court decisions must follow fair hearing rules; a judge cannot dismiss a case without hearing the parties.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether a Judge may determine an application for leave to apply for judicial review without hearing the parties
No. The determination of an application for leave to apply for judicial review is a judicial function requiring observance of the rules of natural justice; deciding it on the papers, on an objection the Judge raised himself, without inviting the parties' views, is a nullity.
The Judge considered the application in chambers, raised what amounted to a preliminary objection premised on non-exhaustion of internal remedies under the Rent Restriction Act and the Fair Administrative Action Act, and dismissed the application without giving any party an opportunity to be heard. Relying on Onyango Oloo v Attorney General and Pashito Holdings, the Court held that a decision reached in breach of natural justice is null and void ab initio and is not cured by the possibility that the same decision would have been reached after a hearing. The ruling was therefore set aside and the application reinstated for hearing de bene esse before another Judge.
Whether a breach of natural justice is excused if the outcome would have been the same
No. It is immaterial that the same decision would have been reached had the parties been heard.
Counsel for the appellant relied on Onyango Oloo v Attorney General, Nakumatt Holdings Ltd v Commissioner of VAT and Pashito Holdings for the proposition that natural justice is a minimum standard of fair decision-making. The Court adopted that position, citing the holding in Onyango Oloo that denial of the right to be heard renders a decision null and void ab initio and that the breach is not cured by the correctness of the ultimate outcome.
Whether the Court should defer to the discretion of the court below
The argument that the Judge was exercising judicial discretion did not assist, because the discretion was exercised in breach of natural justice, rendering the resulting decision no decision at all.
Counsel for the tenants contended, citing Mbogo v Shah, that no basis was laid to interfere with the Judge's discretion. The Court did not treat the matter as an appeal against the exercise of discretion: the vice identified was procedural, namely the denial of a hearing, which nullified the decision regardless of its merits. The decision was therefore set aside on that footing rather than on an appraisal of discretion.
Legal principles established
#- A judicial officer discharging a judicial function, even at an interlocutory or leave stage, must observe the rules of natural justice and afford the parties a hearing; a decision reached in breach of natural justice is null and void and cannot be saved by the proposition that the same result would have been reached had the parties been heard.
- A Judge may not, on his own motion, frame an issue or objection that no party raised, canvass it and uphold it without inviting views from the parties.
Court orders
#- 1.The ruling and orders of the Environment and Land Court given on 20th March 2018 were set aside to the extent that they were given without affording the appellant an opportunity to be heard
- 2.The appellant's application dated 19th March 2018 and filed on 20th March 2018 before the Environment and Land Court was reinstated for hearing before any Judge of that court other than Eboso, J.
- 3.Each party shall bear their own costs
- On appeal from
- Environment & Land Court at Nairobi
- Nairobi ELC Judicial Review No. 19 of 2018
- Jurisdiction invoked
- First appeal / appeal from the Environment and Land Court under the applicable appellate provisions of the Constitution and statute (not expressly stated in the judgment)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Later judgments citing this (1)
#Judgments in the corpus that rely on this one. Where the Court said how it treated the authority, that is shown.
Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Registered Trustees Kenya Railways Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme v Chairman Rent Restriction Tribunal; Simon O Godia & 98 others (Interested Parties) [2019] KECA 286 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2019). Civil Appeal No. 192 of 2018. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2019/286/eng@2019-10-25
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.