Judges risk penalty for faulty rulings

Judges and magistrates will be held accountable for their decisions on cases they handle.

This was the best way to fight “judicial impunity”, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) said on Wednesday. (Read: Magistrate tells of rot in corridors of justice)

“There is urgent need to focus very strongly on judicial impunity. Judicial impunity for us at Judicial Service Commission  means a judge, a bench of judges or a magistrate making decisions that are contrary to the law, or one that is outrageous,” JSC vice-chairperson Christine Mango told judges meeting in Mombasa.

Prof Mango said the commission would provide judicial officers with skills and facilities to perform optimally.

“We are aware many jurisdictions monitor how appellate courts handle matters that are referred to them from lower courts. Judges whose judgments are frequently appealed against and overturned should be subjected to certain redress measures.”  

Prof Mango said the days when a judge or a magistrate would make outrageous decisions and tell lawyers or litigants to “go and appeal” were over.

“We expect the judicial officer or the bench of judges to get it right so that the chances of appeal are minimised.”

The JSC vice-chairperson said they would set benchmarks to gauge performance of judges and magistrates.

“We will introduce performance management — the process of planning, executing, reviewing, monitoring, evaluating and measuring the results of both the institution and individuals in order to meet expectations of Kenyans.”

She said the commission would be represented at all vetting board sittings.

“The Chief Justice has created an office of the judiciary Ombudsperson. This is a powerful office that has been mandated to investigate both internal and external complaints against judicial officers,” she said and announced that High Court stations would be opened in Garissa, Isiolo, Kitui, Kajiado and Lodwar counties, among others, to speed up delivery of justice.

“The welfare and terms of services of all Judiciary employees are very high on our agenda. The JSC is conscious of the conditions of service for staff. We are working very hard to improve the terms to have competitive terms for all staff,” she added.