Chief Justice Martha Koome has published new guidelines to govern transfer of personal injury claims from Small Claims Courts to Magistrate Courts.

In the guidelines published in the Kenya Gazette of Friday 8, Justice Koome said the move is aimed at improving efficiency, clarity, and access to justice in Kenya.

The new rules provide a framework for handling ongoing and future personal injury matters that fall outside the jurisdiction of the Small Claims Courts.

“BIG NEWS: I have issued new guidelines on the transfer of personal injury claims from Small Claims Courts to Magistrates’ Courts, aimed at enhancing efficiency, clarity, and access to justice for all Kenyans,” the CJ wrote on her X account on Saturday.

The rules follow a high court decision of January 22, 2026  where the court declared that all pending personal injury claims arising from road accidents before the Small Claims court be transferred and are deemed transferred to the Magistrates’ court with jurisdiction.

The high court orders were contained in Gathaiya v Attorney General and 2 Others; and 176 Interested Parties (Petition E8 and E10 of 2024 (Consolidated). 

The rules now require that within thirty days from the gazettement of the guidelines, the Head of Station, Magistrates’ Court, shall in collaboration with the Adjudicator in-charge of the Small Claims court, undertake an audit of all pending matters to determine those that are eligible for transfer, and shall cause a transfer of the eligible matters for disposal.

“For avoidance of doubt, personal injury claims arising from road traffic accidents in which judgment had already been delivered at the Small Claims court as at 22 January 2026 shall be deemed concluded and shall not be re-opened or transferred to the Magistrates’ court, except as may be provided by law,” CJ Koome’s rules state.

Eligible matters at the Milimani Small Claims court shall be transferred to the Personal Injury and Material Damage Division of the Milimani Commercial Chief Magistrate’s court while all eligible matters in all other Small Claims courts shall be transferred to the respective Magistrates’ court Civil Registry.

Upon transfer of an eligible matter, a new Magistrates’ court case number under the case type “MCCC” shall be assigned to the matter, but it shall also retain the original Small Claims court case number for ease of traceability.

The rules state that transfer of eligible cases shall be undertaken through the Case Tracking System to facilitate auto-assignment of case numbers.

“Upon transfer of an eligible matter, Court fees shall be assessed afresh in accordance with the scale of fees applicable to Magistrates’ courts, and shall be paid less the amount paid at the filing of the matter at the Small Claims court,” Koome’s rules add.

All existing orders issued by the Small Claims court prior to the transfer of an eligible matter shall remain valid and enforceable.

“The receiving court shall proceed with the matters from the stage reached before transfer, with necessary adaptations and flexibility to align with the Civil Procedure Act and Rules, and all other applicable laws.”

Decrees shall be extracted in the respective Small Claims court in cases where judgment had been delivered by the Small Claims court as at January 22, 2026 but a decree was yet to be extracted; and in the receiving court in cases where an eligible matter is transferred in accordance with the Guidelines.

“A party who files any post judgment application or invokes any post judgment process in a matter previously concluded in the Small Claims court shall be responsible for requesting the transfer of the case file from the Small Claims court to the court where the post judgment process is filed,” the guidelines state in part.