Union of National Research & Allied Institutes Staff of Kenya v National Museums of Kenya; Kenya Union of Commercial, Food and Allied Workers (Interested Party) (Cause E641 of 2022) [2025] KEELRC 1350 (KLR)
The bottom line
#What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Questions the Court framed
#The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.
- 1.Whether this court has jurisdiction to grant leave to file a Notice of Appeal out of time against its own ruling
- 2.Whether the Claimant has shown sufficient cause for the delay in filing the Notice of Appeal
Key legal issues
#Whether the ELRC has jurisdiction to extend time for filing a Notice of Appeal against its own ruling
It does not; the Court of Appeal Rules 2022 place that function with the Court of Appeal itself, and the trial court is functus officio after rendering its ruling
The court examined Rule 77 of the Court of Appeal Rules 2022, which requires a Notice of Appeal to be lodged within 14 days of the decision. It held that the rules were set by the Court of Appeal and imply that an application for leave to appeal out of time, and the appeal itself, are to be made at the Court of Appeal. Having delivered its ruling on 27th May 2024, the trial court became functus officio and lacks jurisdiction to grant the orders sought.
Computation of the 14-day period for filing a Notice of Appeal
The 14 days run from the date of delivery of the judgment, not from when the party came to learn of it; here delivery was on 27th May 2024, so the period ended on 11th June 2024
The court held that Rule 77 requires the Notice of Appeal to be filed within 14 days after delivery of the judgment. Since the ruling was delivered on 27th May 2024, the 14 days expired on 11th June 2024, well before the Claimant's application of 10th July 2024. The Claimant's contention that time ran from discovery of the ruling on the CTS was not accepted, the court resting its dismissal instead on lack of jurisdiction.
Legal principles established
#- An application for leave to file a Notice of Appeal out of time against a decision of the Employment and Labour Relations Court is made to the Court of Appeal, not the trial court, which is functus officio after delivering its ruling
- A Notice of Appeal from the ELRC must be lodged within fourteen days after the date of the decision, per Rule 77 of the Court of Appeal Rules 2022
Court orders
#- 1.The Claimant's Application dated July 10, 2024 is found unmerited and is dismissed with costs
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Employment and Labour Relations Court jurisdiction; application for extension of time to file Notice of Appeal governed by Court of Appeal Rules 2022, Rule 77
Relief refused
#Leave to file Notice of Appeal out of time against the ruling delivered on 27th May 2024
The trial court lacks jurisdiction; under the Court of Appeal Rules such an application is made to the Court of Appeal, and this court became functus officio after delivering its ruling
Costs
Application dismissed with costs to the Respondent/Interested Party
Quotable passages
#Verbatim from the judgment, each located to the page it appears on in the official PDF — so these can be cited and checked directly.
this Court after rendering its ruling on this matter became functus oficio and cannot consider whether to allow Notice of Appeal and an Appeal out of time when the rules of the Appellate Court are quite clear that it is the one to consider the merits and or demerits of such an application
In other words, this Court does not have jurisdiction to grant the orders sought in the application
In conclusion the Claimant's Application dated July 10, 2024 is found unmerited and is hereby dismissed with costs.
Issues in the judgment
#The judgment contains no case title, cause number or full party names; only 'Claimant', 'Respondent' and 'Interested Party' are used, and the neutral citation is absent
The judgment uses the spelling 'functus oficio' (single 'f') rather than the correct 'functus officio'
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Union of National Research & Allied Institutes Staff of Kenya v National Museums of Kenya; Kenya Union of Commercial, Food and Allied Workers (Interested Party) (Cause E641 of 2022) [2025] KEELRC 1350 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Application dated 10th July 2024 in ELRC cause at Nairobi (cause number not stated in judgment). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/1350/eng@2025-05-09
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.