| dc.description.abstract | There have been various committees on Judicial Reforms initiated by the government at
different times since independence to identify causes that inhibit the delivery of justice by the
Courts, but no studies have been carried out to ascertain the influence that the judicial reform
recommendations have had in transforming the Judiciary to a more efficient institution,
which informs of the need for conducting this research. The study discusses the influence of
Judicial Reforms on the effectiveness of Kenyan Courts in the delivery of justice using the
Milimani Commercial Court in Nairobi as a case study. Three major reform committee
reports which have had a remarkable impact on the Judiciary have been selected for this
study and these were enacted or proposed in the years between 1992 and 2010. The purpose
of this study is to determine the respondents' perceptions of the judicial reforms on the
effectiveness of the Judiciary. The study objectives are to establish the influence of the
recruitment procedure of Judges and Magistrates on the effectiveness of the judicial system;
the influence of deployment and promotion procedure.. of Judges and Magistrates on the
effectiveness of the judicial system; the influence of the excess workload on the judicial
officers and the influence of terms and conditions of service on the effectiveness of the
judicial system. The research design used in this study is cross-sectional survey, which is
descriptive in nature. In addressing its objectives, the study seeks to determine the influence
of implementation of the reform agenda by, the government on-the effectiveness of the
Judiciary by seeking views of the target population which comprise of Judges/Magistrates,
Advocates, Paralegals and Law firms' clients being represented by the Advocates. An
extensive literature survey on Judicial Reforms has been carried out thorough analysis of
relevant statutes, academic literature and reports of various committees formed by the
government to look into ways of reforming the Judiciary. The main findings of the study
confirm that reform committees did not improve justice delivery and the study thus
recommends that the government adopts a pro-active approach in implementing the reform
agenda. The findings are informative both for public dialogue on the discourse on judicial
reforms and contribute in the implementation of the new Constitution through identifying
possible solutions to reforming the Judiciary to a more effective institution based on credible
evidence. Law firms and clients seeking justice in courts would also benefit as well as
donors in assessing the integrity and worthiness to qualify the Judiciary for funding the
development of its various infrastructures. The study results form a basis for further research. | en |
