Monday, December 12, 2011

Baraza defends freedom of courts over Bashir case



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Deputy Chief Justice Nancy Baraza
Photo/FILE Deputy Chief Justice Nancy Baraza  
By NATION CORRESPONDENT
Posted  Sunday, December 11  2011 at  20:32
Deputy Chief Justice Nancy Baraza has defended the right of the Judiciary to make independent decisions in the wake of the criticism over issuance of warrants of arrest against Sudan President Hassan Omar Al-Bashir by the Nairobi High Court. (READ: Kenya to appeal Bashir arrest order)
She said that the respect for the rule of law was obligatory for every Kenyan and asked those criticising the decision to appeal against it within the law.
Speaking during the tour of a new building that will house High Court and magistrates courts in Nyeri at the weekend, Ms Baraza also said that plans were under-way to decentralise the Court of Appeal.
She said more Appellate judges would be employed to bring the number to 30.
Some would be posted permanently to stations outside Nairobi as soon as amendments to the Judicature Act are passed.
The stations to have a resident appellate judges include Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Kisumu, Nyeri and Eldoret, according to the Deputy CJ.
“We are doing this so that Kenyans do not have to continue to wait for the one circuit appeal court to come for their cases,” said Ms Baraza.
She said that the move to increase the number of appeal judges would go hand in hand with the planned hiring of 50 more High Court judges.
“We will do that so that if you file a case in January by September or even earlier, it should have been heard,” she said.

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