Republic v Chairman, Land Disputes Tribunal Mulot Division; Nowoi (Exparte); Ngerechi (Interested Party) (Environment and Land Judicial Review Case 4 of 2018) [2024] KEELC 3482 (KLR)
The bottom line
#The High Court dismissed a 15-year-old challenge to a land tribunal decision because the applicant skipped the appeal route and went straight to judicial review.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the judicial review proceedings were instituted within the statutory time limit under Order 53 Rule 2
Yes - time runs from the adoption of the tribunal award as a judgment of the court on 27th January 2009, and leave obtained on 24th July 2009 was within six months.
The court held that Order 53 Rule 2 applies only after a tribunal award has been adopted as a judgment of the court. The Tribunal award of 17th December 2008 was adopted as judgment on 27th January 2009. The Ex-Parte Applicant obtained leave on 24th July 2009, within the six-month window, so the substantive motion was properly before the court on time. The interested party's 43-day computation was therefore rejected.
Whether the Ex-Parte Applicant is entitled to certiorari and prohibition
No - the application fails because the Applicant did not exhaust the appeal mechanism provided under the Land Disputes Tribunals Act (repealed).
Section 8(1) of the Land Disputes Tribunals Act gave an aggrieved party 30 days to appeal to the Appeals Committee, with a further appeal to the High Court on a point of law under Section 8(9). Instead of following that route, the Applicant invoked judicial review. Following the Konga case, the court held that failure to exhaust the statutory procedure rendered the motion unmeritorious, and it was dismissed.
Legal principles established
#- Under Order 53 Rule 2 of the Civil Procedure Rules, an application for leave to apply for certiorari must be made not later than six months after the date of the proceedings.
- Where a tribunal award has been adopted as a judgment of the court, the six-month period under Order 53 Rule 2 runs from the adoption of the award as judgment.
- A party aggrieved by a Land Disputes Tribunal decision must exhaust the appeal mechanism to the Appeals Committee (and further appeal to the High Court on a point of law) before resorting to judicial review.
- Judicial review is concerned with the decision-making process, not the merits of the decision.
Court orders
#- 1.The Notice of Motion dated 7th August 2009 seeking orders of certiorari and prohibition is dismissed
- 2.Each party to bear its own costs
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Judicial review jurisdiction under Order 53 of the Civil Procedure Rules and Section 9 of the Law Reform Act
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Republic v Chairman, Land Disputes Tribunal Mulot Division; Nowoi (Exparte); Ngerechi (Interested Party) (Environment and Land Judicial Review Case 4 of 2018) [2024] KEELC 3482 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2024). Narok Miscellaneous Land Case No. 1 of 2009 (Judicial Review Notice of Motion dated 7th August 2009). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2024/3482/eng@2024-04-30
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.