On Friday, the Court of Appeal overruled a High Court verdict that declared 23 statutes unconstitutional.
The 23 laws have since been reinstated.
According to the ruling, the lower court erred when it declared the cross-petition by Parliament a response rather than a petition, according to Justices Agnes Murgor, Pauline Nyamweya, and Jessie Lessit.
“As a result of the misdirection, the Senate, as petitioners in the High Court, was not afforded the opportunity to respond to the National Assembly counterclaim.”
The court has remanded the case to the High Court, which will consider and rule on the National Assembly’s cross-appeal.
“Having found that the High Court did not consider the cross-petition, we find that no determination was made on the issues raised therein. Consequently, we find that we have no jurisdiction to consider them,” the court ruled.
The court has however upheld some of the High Court’s rulings, including one that stated that any bill or legislation that grants the PSC powers must be considered by the Senate because it directly affects the Senate’s ability to carry out its constitutional mandate, including the ability to consider bills that affect counties.
