Tribunals play an important role in the administration of justice by providing specialised, accessible and expeditious dispute resolution to thousands of Kenyans.
They are particularly attractive because they offer distinct advantages over ordinary courts, are more accessible, less costly and capable of resolving disputes expeditiously.
Their procedures also tend to be simpler and less technical. Importantly, tribunals provide an opportunity to develop specialised knowledge and expertise in particular areas of law.
However, for tribunals to work effectively, they must satisfy four fundamental principles.
First, they must embrace openness, including through public proceedings.
Second, they must observe fairness by adopting procedures that enable parties to understand and adequately present their disputes.
Third, and perhaps most importantly, tribunals must be impartial and independent, and their decisions must be free from improper influence or interference.
Finally, tribunals must possess the requisite specialised knowledge and industry expertise relevant to the matters within their jurisdiction.
Kenya currently has different types of tribunals exercising a wide range of administrative and quasi-judicial functions.
There are 45 active tribunals, ranging from regulatory and advisory bodies, to tribunals exercising first-instance jurisdiction, including those dealing with licensing matters. Others determine disputes in specialised areas such as taxation.
Of the 45 active tribunals, 28 have transitioned to the Judiciary. Despite the progress made, concerns remain regarding the capacity, independence, accountability and efficiency of the tribunal system.
One of the principal challenges is the absence of a coherent and harmonised framework governing their operations.
In addition, concerns have also arisen over the extent to tribunals are not retaining the specialised and technical character that originally justified their establishment as some decisions appear to be extensions of the ordinary court rather than genuinely specialised adjudicative bodies.
This may diminish one of their principal advantages of tribunals, the ability to combine legal reasoning with practical, technical and sector-specific knowledge.
An important attempt to address these challenges is the Tribunals Bill, 2025, which awaits consideration through the legislative process.
The Bill seeks to rationalise and regulate tribunals, streamline their operations, transition most tribunals to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), strengthen their independence, establish common principles governing their operations, and empower them to grant appropriate remedies, including penalties and injunctions.
Concluding this process would therefore be an important step towards creating a more coherent, credible and effective tribunal system. In 2024, the Judiciary launched three important initiatives: the Tribunals Shared Services Infrastructure, the Judiciary Tribunals Website and the Tribunals Registry Manual.
These initiatives were aimed at improving coordination and service delivery. Building on this foundation, the Judiciary has established additional Shared Services Registries in Kisumu and Nyeri, with more expected in other regions.
This is an important development in bringing tribunal services closer to the people and reducing the cost and distance associated with accessing justice. Another significant development was the establishment of a Tribunals Appeals Division of the High Court at Milimani Law Courts in July 2026.
The Division is intended to hear appeals from tribunals whose appellate jurisdiction lies with the High Court, except appeals from the Tax Appeals Tribunal and tribunals that are under the supervision of courts of equal status.
Its establishment provides an administrative solution to the difficulties litigants may face in determining where to file tribunal appeals, particularly given the various divisions of the High Court at Milimani.
The Division therefore provides a one-stop forum for tribunal appeals and has the potential to improve access to justice, enhance efficiency, reduce delays and promote greater consistency and predictability in the determination of specialised tribunal matters. It also represents an important step towards developing a more coherent relationship between tribunals and the superior courts.
These reforms are significant, but they remain incomplete. The next critical step is to conclude the legislative reform process. Enactment of the Tribunals Bill would provide the common legal and institutional framework necessary to consolidate the progress already made by the Judiciary.
It would also provide greater clarity on the governance, independence, procedures and accountability of tribunals. Ultimately, tribunal reform is not simply about reorganising institutions. It is about making justice easier to reach, simpler to navigate and more consistent for the ordinary citizen.
Once enacted, the Tribunals Bill, together with the reforms already being undertaken, has the potential to transform Kenya’s tribunal system into a more accessible, efficient, independent and coherent part of the administration of justice.
Jacqueline Ingutiah, Advocate and Commissioner– Judicial Service Commission
