REPUBLIC OF KENYA - The Judiciary

[67] Apart from the status of Section 14 of the Supreme Court Act
featuring in the depositions, it was also the subject of submissions,
especially by counsel for the third respondent.
[68] Such canvassing of Section 14 of the Supreme Court Act, and
more particularly, the fact that it touched on jurisdiction (defined in
Black’s Law Dictionary, 8 th ed. (2004) as “[a] court’s power to
decide a case or issue a decree” (p.867)), required that the Court
consider the constitutionality of that Section; and the outcome, in
these circumstances, would stand as a declaration of status in rem.
This is clear from the following passage in the Macharia Ruling
(para.68):
“A Court’s jurisdiction flows from either the Constitution
or legislation or both. Thus, a Court of law can only
exercise jurisdiction as conferred by the Constitution or
other written law. It cannot arrogate to itself jurisdiction
exceeding that which is conferred upon it by law. We
agree with counsel for the first and second respondents …
that the issue as to whether a Court of law has
jurisdiction to entertain a matter before it, is not one of
mere procedural technicality; it goes to the very heart of
the matter, for without jurisdiction, the Court cannot
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