The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) of Kenya is an independent Commission established under Article 171 of the Constitution of Kenya. Its mandate as stipulated in Article 172 of the Constitution is to promote and facilitate the independence and accountability of the Judiciary and the efficient, effective and transparent administration of justice. The commission has 11 members with the initial team appointed in December 2010.[1][2]
The Key functions of the JSC Archived 13 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine are:
Under Article Article 171(1) of the Constitution of Kenya, the Judicial Service Commission consists of the following 11 members:
The Chief Registrar of the Judiciary serves as the Secretary to the JSC.
The current membership of the JSC is as follows:[3]
Hon. Winfridah Boyani Mokaya, Chief Registrar of the Judiciary serves as the Secretary to the Commission.
The first high profile actions carried out by the newly appointed JSC were public interviews for the Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice positions in May 2011. The Commission nominated lawyers Willy Munyoki Mutunga and Nancy Baraza for the positions of Kenya's Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice respectively.[4] The names were forwarded to President Mwai Kibaki, who then submitted them to Parliament after consultation with the Prime Minister Raila Odinga[5] where they were approved.
The Judicial Service Commission, interviewed 25 applicants and in June 2011 nominated 5 Justices to the Supreme Court of Kenya.
In January 2012, the Judicial Service Commission formed a sub-committee to investigate reports[6] that Deputy Chief Justice Nancy Baraza assaulted a security guard at the Village Market shopping mall on 31 December 2011.[7] The JSC subsequently recommended her suspension to President Mwai Kibaki and requested the President to appoint a tribunal to investigate her conduct in line with Article 168 (4) of the Constitution.[8] After her suspension,[9] a commission formed to investigate her conduct recommended her removal from office.[10] On 18 October, she subsequently resigned after withdrawing her supreme court appeal of the tribunal's verdict.[11]
The vacant position of Deputy Chief Justice was advertised by the Commission (JSC) on 9 November 2012. The JSC however re-advertised because it was dissatisfied by the number of applicants. The position subsequently attracted applications from 17 women and one man.[12] Those shortlisted for the position were:[13]
The justices who failed to make the short-list were Roselyn Nambuye, Fatuma Sichale, Fatuma Sichale, Wanjiru Karanja, Grace Wangui Ngenye, Ruth Sitati, Helen Omondi, Hannah Okwengu and Mary Ang'awa. On 22 February 2013, the JSC announced that after completing the interviews it had nominated Court of Appeal Judge Kalpana Rawal. There will however be a longer wait for the next steps in the process as the current parliament completed its term and the next Parliament is to be elected during the March general Election. The new parliament will then form departmental committees including the one on Justice and Legal Affairs which will then vet her suitability for the office.[14]