Naivasha Municipal Council v Industrial Court of Kenya & another [2014] KEELRC 434 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Naivasha Municipal Council lost its bid to overturn a 2007 Industrial Court award because it waited over three years, far beyond the six-month judicial review deadline.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the judicial review application was barred by the six-month limitation in Order 53 Rule 2
Yes - the ex parte leave application was filed more than three years after the award of 31st August 2007, and time runs from the initial award, not the later unsuccessful review ruling
Order 53 Rule 2 imposes an absolute six-month limitation on applications for leave to apply for certiorari. The decision sought to be quashed was the award of 31st August 2007. The applicant's election to first seek review before the Industrial Court, which failed on 16th July 2010, did not reset the limitation clock. Following Gathunguri and Ojwang J's holding, the limitation cannot be defeated by rules of court or by the fact that leave was granted ex parte without the statutory bar being raised.
Whether the Court could entertain the substantive judicial review application
No - having found the application statute barred, the Court lacked jurisdiction to examine the other issues raised
The Court held that the limitation objection went to jurisdiction and had to be dealt with at the outset. Since the application was out of time and no extension of time had been sought at the ex parte stage, the Court declined to examine the remaining grounds, including the challenge to the Industrial Court's exercise of its statutory powers under the Labour Institutions Act.
Legal principles established
#- Time for purposes of the Order 53 Rule 2 limitation for certiorari runs from the date of the initial decision impugned, not from a subsequent unsuccessful application for review of that decision.
- All applications for certiorari must be commenced within the six-month limit, or the court's leave must have been secured during that time limit.
Court orders
#- 1.The judicial review application dated 20th December 2010 is dismissed with costs to the Respondent and Interested Party
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Order 53 Rule 2 of the Civil Procedure Rules (judicial review jurisdiction); Labour Institutions Act, 2007
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Naivasha Municipal Council v Industrial Court of Kenya & another [2014] KEELRC 434 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2014). Judicial Review Application dated 20th December 2010 (re Industrial Court Cause No. 132 of 2006). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2014/434/eng@2014-06-13
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.