Sylvester Munyalo Makundi v George Mutemi Makundi & 2 others [2015] KEELC 741 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Environment and Land Court confirmed you can file a land case at the nearest court if none exists where the land is located.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Territorial jurisdiction of the Environment and Land Court
The Court held it has territorial jurisdiction to determine the suit because it was filed in 2013 before an ELC had been established at Machakos High Court, and Milimani hosted the nearest ELC
Article 165(5) ousts the High Court's jurisdiction over matters within Article 162(2) courts. The ELC, established in 2011, has the same status as the High Court with unlimited original jurisdiction over land and environment disputes. Since no ELC existed in Machakos at filing, the plaintiff properly filed in the nearest ELC at Milimani, and Sections 12 and 13 of the Civil Procedure Act were not violated.
Nature of jurisdiction as a preliminary objection
The objection touched on a point of law and qualified as a preliminary objection, but failed on its merits
The court reiterated that jurisdiction is everything and goes to the root of the matter; a court without jurisdiction must down its pen. However, on the facts, the territorial jurisdiction objection was unmerited given the constitutional mandate of the ELC and the absence of an ELC at Machakos when the suit was instituted.
Legal principles established
#- Where no Environment and Land Court existed at the nearest High Court when a suit was filed, filing in the nearest available ELC does not violate the territorial jurisdiction rules of the Civil Procedure Act
- The Environment and Land Court has the same status as the High Court and unlimited original jurisdiction over land and environment disputes
Court orders
#- 1.The preliminary objection raised by the 1st and 2nd Defendants is dismissed with costs to the Plaintiff
- 2.Matter to proceed for hearing and be determined on merit
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Article 162(2) of the Constitution and the Environment and Land Court Act, Section 13(1)
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.
- Titan Limited v Qiye Company Limited & another[2023] KEELC 20354 (KLR)28 Sept 2023
Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Sylvester Munyalo Makundi v George Mutemi Makundi & 2 others [2015] KEELC 741 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2015). ELC No 764 of 2013. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2015/741/eng@2015-03-19
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.