Chief Justice Martha Koome has outlined the key areas the Judiciary will be prioritising heading into the future.
Top of the list is children's access to justice, promoting alternative dispute resolution, decongesting the justice system and electoral justice, among others.
"We aim to set up a safe and secure justice system that efficiently handles children in contact with the law and children in conflict with the law," she said.
She said they are working towards rolling out child-friendly courts around the country and supporting Alternative Justice Systems (AJS) mechanisms to resolve children's matters in a rights-respecting manner.
"We already have one model children’s court in Tononoka- Mombasa county and we also intend to establish a Juvenile Justice Information System to enable appropriate data management in children’s matters," she said.
Koome said that they have embraced the idea that justice does not solely reside in courts.
"We are therefore keen on promoting the multi-door approach to dispute resolution," she said.
The CJ spoke during a development partners roundtable in support of the Judiciary's Social Transformation through Access to Justice vision on Monday.
She asked the partners to support them in their vision, with a key target group for their interventions being children.
The Judiciary has already operationalised Court Annexed Mediation and AJS in several court stations and is keen to scale up these programmes across the country.
She said that one of the problems that have hindered the effectiveness of our criminal justice system is the congestion of our prisons with petty offenders.
"Towards this end, we intend to establish courts of Petty Sessions in major urban areas to ease congestion in the criminal justice sector, operationalise instant traffic fines and support family rehabilitation programmes," she said.
She also said they hope to expand case resolution infrastructure in marginalised regions to improve physical access and proximity to justice resources.
Koome said that the stability of our nation and the resilience of our democracy will largely be determined by inculcating faith in our courts that they can competently and fairly determine disputes arising from our electoral processes.
"It is in this context that we are determined to continue enhancing our capacity and effectiveness in electoral dispute adjudication," she said.
