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Educational sample. Replace bracketed fields using your evidence.
REPUBLIC OF KENYA
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF KENYA
PETITION OR APPLICATION NO [reference]
[APPELLANT OR APPLICANT] v [RESPONDENT]
WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS
1. These submissions address the Respondents’ asserted distinction between prohibited suitability review and examination of action beyond statutory authority. They are an educational reconstruction of arguments which did not defeat the source appeal.
2. The Court should identify the exact act challenged, its date, the applicable transitional provision and the relief sought below. A general appeal to fairness is insufficient to establish a separate jurisdictional category.
3. The Respondents contend that the express wording of subsection (2) requires careful attention. They must also answer subsection (1), the purpose of the transitional scheme and the Supreme Court decisions relied on by the commission.
4. No declaration should be sought for the first time concerning the defunct board. The record must show that the issue and requested relief formed part of the earlier adjudication.
5. If the Court rejects the Respondents’ interpretation, they ask that costs be considered separately. Historical public law uncertainty and legitimate resort to court do not automatically justify a punitive costs order.
DATED at [place] on [date]. Signed [party or advocate]. DRAWN AND FILED BY [name and address for service]. TO BE SERVED UPON [each affected party and address].
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Tell us about your dispute and the court involved. Request a document drafted for your facts, with your evidence and the relief you need.
An advocate confirms availability, scope and fees before accepting your matter.Educational reconstruction from a reported decision. Newly drafted sample, not an original filing or a matter handled by our team. Identifying details are replaced with bracketed fields. Verify the facts, law, jurisdiction and court directions before use.
Use and evidence notes
Answer the actual pleaded grounds and the Appellant’s authorities. Identify the record pages relied upon and any genuine limits of jurisdiction. An argument that failed in the source case remains marked historical. New affirmative relief may require a cross-appeal; do not obtain it by adding a prayer to submissions. Follow current filing, bundle and service directions.
Authorities and record references: [authority and proposition]; [relevant admitted document and page]; [court direction governing this filing].
Source facts and limits of the decision
Four magistrates were found unsuitable by the transitional vetting board. Their internal review attempts failed. The commission implemented removal. The High Court dismissed the subsequent challenges, but the Court of Appeal allowed them. The Supreme Court appeal addressed whether the Sixth Schedule jurisdictional bar extended to magistrates.
The Supreme Court allowed the commission’s appeal, set aside the Court of Appeal judgment and restored the High Court result. Each party bore its own costs. This concerns the special transitional vetting regime, not an automatic immunity for ordinary modern employment decisions.
Read Sixth Schedule section 23(1) and (2) together, and distinguish review of suitability from any legally recognised complaint that the board exceeded its temporal mandate. Constitution Article 163(4)(a) supplies the appellate gateway. The board is now defunct; this is a historical reconstruction.
Read the original reported decision: [2023] KESC 32 (KLR) — 21 April 2023
The original decision may identify participants. The specimen replaces their identifying details. The complete judgment chapter was downloaded from the official Supreme Court law reports and checked for the background, competing positions and final orders.
Related law and procedural rules
Constitution of Kenya · Judicial Service Act · Supreme Court Act
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