Commonwealth Access to Justice Innovation Award

The Kenya Judiciary has received the Commonwealth Access to Justice Innovation Award for our work in the Small Claims Courts. I had the honour of engaging openly and candidly with Commonwealth Law Ministers at the just concluded CLMM 2024 in Zanzibar, United Republic of Tanzania on the need to adequately finance Judiciaries across the Commonwealth and globally to roll out more people-centred justice innovations such as the Small Claims Courts, specialised Courts, Mahakama Popote, Justice Innovation Hubs, Alternative Justice Systems, Barefoot Law Boxes, e-filing, Data Tracking Dashboards and other innovations which are making justice more affordable, more accessible and more efficient especially for the vulnerable and marginalised. The Small Claims Courts continue to be a high impact initiative opening up avenues for faster resolution of claims under $10,000 (KSh1 million). The next phase of implementation will be to fully operationalise these courts in border towns and other commercial hubs across the country to facilitate the ease of doing business. We are also looking at ways to deploy smart technology to revolutionalise the way small claims are filed and determined. Following the successes of this model, we are in the nascent stages of designing a court of petty sessions to address petty crimes with the same urgency and resolution. I thank Hon. Justice Alfred Mabeya, Hon. Caroline Kabucho and their team of Registrars and Adjudicators for their unrelenting commitment to the success of this initiative. Special regard must also be paid to Advocates for embracing the Small Claims Courts and greatly contributing to its success. Together, we will work towards making the right of access to justice a lived reality for every Kenyan while protecting the integrity of the legal profession. The Commonwealth under the leadership of Hon. Baroness Patricia Scotland, QC continues to spur thought and transformation in many fields, especially for the rule of law. This Award signals the need to share this model with others and to collaborate in ensuring that our common innovation database is resourced and updated.