Nairobi Kenya — Litigants in Mombasa and Kisumu seeking to file appeals before the Supreme Court will not have to travel to Nairobi after the sub-registries of the court commenced operations.

In a statement, Chief Justice Martha Koome stated that the sub-registries are part of the Judiciary's pledge to make access to justice easy.

She indicated that the registries will receive all filings from litigants and transmit urgent matters and files to the Central Registry in Nairobi.

"All matters in which the court has jurisdiction can now be filed in the sub-registries, apart from presidential petitions, which for logistical reasons must be filed at the seat of the Supreme Court in Nairobi," she stated.

She pointed out that the court is vested with the exclusive original jurisdiction under Article 163(3)(a), to hear and determine disputes relating to elections to the Office of the President.

She explained that the court is also implementing a case management system that incorporates electronic filing.

She said that it also has appellate jurisdiction under Article 163(3)(b) to hear and determine appeals from the Court of Appeal and any other court or tribunal prescribed by national legislation.

"Other disputes are those under Article 163(6) of the Constitution, which gives the court with the power to give an advisory opinion at the request of the National Government, State organ or any County Government concerning any matter concerning counties," she stated.

The court also hears appeals from tribunals constituted under Article 168(8) of the Constitution to determine whether a judge ought to be removed from office.

The Supreme Court was established as the apex court in Kenya by the constitution of Kenya 2010 and was operationalized by the Supreme Court Act, number 7 of 2011 and inaugurated on 26th October 2011.