Civil court staff in Kenya: working conditions and legal training for an effective procedure

Courts are very important because their pronouncements become part of the law in light of the provisions of section 3 of the Judicature Act, 1967. Therefore, the process of making judicial determinations on issues before courts must be treated with the necessary efficiency. Delivery of justice involves both judicial and administrative work. That is to say, for expediency in the administration of justice to be met, there is a need for other administrative functions which cannot be done by the judges. Therefore, the role of judicial staff in case management is critical in the functioning of the judiciary. Though the Judiciary has come up with different initiatives to build capacity for judicial staff, the initiatives including the approval of the Judiciary Human Resources Policies and Procedure Manual 2014, continue to exist amidst serious training and human practice challenges on motivation, security, and adequacy of facilities. This paper discusses the initiatives that the Judiciary has put in place to attract and maintain the best human resource capital. It proposes that strategic investment in information and communication technology will help overcome the challenges as the Judiciary moves towards its identified strategic direction of quality judicial service.