Trusted Society of Human Rights Alliance v Mohammed Hussein Mulla Nanji Trust, National Land Commission & Attorney General (Environment & Land Case 35 of 2016) [2017] KEELC 320 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court refused to review its own judgment because the losing party waited 73 days and argued about the evidence instead of pointing to a clear error.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether an error apparent on the face of the record was established
No; the error was not specifically identified and the applicant's real complaint was that the court reached an erroneous conclusion after assessing the evidence, which cannot be a ground for review
Order 45 rule 1 permits review on discovery of new and important matter, error apparent on the face of the record, or any other sufficient reason. The applicant cited no new matter and did not invoke 'other sufficient reason'. The only ground indirectly raised was error apparent, but it was never specifically identified; what the applicant actually alleged was that the court mis-assessed the evidence, which is a matter for appeal, not review.
Whether the 73-day delay in filing the application was unreasonable
Yes; the delay of 73 days in seeking review of a final judgment, unexplained, was inordinate and unreasonable
A review application must be brought without unreasonable delay, what constitutes such delay varying from case to case; even one day may suffice. Here judgment was delivered on 20th April 2017 and the application filed on 4th July 2017, some 73 days later, with no explanation. Certainty for litigants requires that challenges to final judgments be raised promptly, so the delay was held unreasonable.
Legal principles established
#- An erroneous conclusion of law or evidence is not a ground for review but may be a good ground for appeal
- An application for review must be made without unreasonable delay, and even one day after judgment may be unreasonable depending on circumstances
Court orders
#- 1.Notice of Motion dated 3rd July 2017 dismissed with costs
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Section 80 of the Civil Procedure Act and Order 45 rules 1 and 2 of the Civil Procedure Rules, 2010
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, "Trusted Society of Human Rights Alliance v Mohammed Hussein Mulla Nanji Trust, National Land Commission & Attorney General (Environment & Land Case 35 of 2016) [2017] KEELC 320 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2017). Petition (Election Petition) - Notice of Motion dated 3rd July 2017. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2017/320/eng@2017-12-15
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.