The Judiciary has written to Parliament opposing plans to merge the Employment and Labour Relations Court and Environment and Land Court with the High Court.
Chief Justice Martha Koome says the proposed constitutional amendment that seeks to merge the specialised courts with the High Court was not ideal. She said the mixed-grill approach as proposed in the constitutional amendments was not ideal.
"There was an informed reason why Kenyans during the constitution-making process demanded for a specialised attention to the areas of employment and labour relations, and also environment and land and that rationale has not gone away," Justice Koome said.
Moreover, the CJ added the contribution by the two courts to expeditious delivery of justice and robust jurisprudence in the areas of special concern to Kenyans justify the continued existence of the specialised courts. Justice Koome made the remarks when she officially opened the Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC) annual conference in Naivasha.
Present during the event were Labour and Social Protection CS Florence Bore and Federation of Kenya Employers chief executive officer Jacqueline Mugo.
The CJ commended the labour court, noting in the first half of the 2023-2024 financial year, the court recorded a case clearance rate of 166 percent.
