The Hon. Dr. Willy M. Mutunga, D.Jur, S.C., E.G.H.
Chief Justice & President, Supreme Court of Kenya
Chairman,
October 2013
Nairobi, Kenya
We are making a bold promise. Understanding our role as the agency through which Kenya’s robust, indigenous, patriotic and progressive jurisprudence will be monitored, reported and also packaged as a product for export to other jurisdictions, and acknowledging our social justice obligation to provide public legal information that is open and accessible, we will be the gold standard by which law reporting and access to public legal information is measured. The people of Kenya, from whom our mandate is derived, the letter and spirit of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 and the Judiciary Transformation Framework requires nothing less of us.
The essence of our renewed sense of obligation is captured in our new slogan “Where Legal Information is Public Knowledge”. We have come to an enlightened understanding of our mandate and make a commitment to not merely be a provider of public legal information but the people’s fountain of knowledge and understanding of the law for the promotion of the rule of law and the advancement of a civilized society.
We have renewed our minds and rededicated ourselves to the national values and principles of public service set out in the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 and we have re-engineered our systems and processes to exceed the expectations the people, the Judiciary, our partners and our stakeholders. The essence of this renewal is expressed in a new brand identity - KENYA LAW.
The Laws of Kenya (Revised and Consolidated Edition) – A token of our commitment to providing quality public legal information
Committed, effective and comprehensive implementation of the Constitution will place Kenya on a social-democratic trajectory. The Constitution has fundamental and core pillars that can mitigate the current unsustainable and unacceptable status quo in our economic, social, cultural, ideological, and political sectors. Undermining the Constitution will destroy these pillars. The Constitution calls upon us to be patriotic. I do not see any other way of expressing our patriotism except in our expression of fidelity to the Constitution and its unequivocal implementation.
Kinachohitajika ni moyo wa dhati wa kuikubali Katiba na kuitekeleza. Hilo lisipofanyika basi hapatakuwa na usawa, demokrasia, utawala wa sheria, uhuru wa Mahakama, wala maendeleo yoyote yale katika jamii.
The Constitution of Kenya, 2010 places an obligation on every citizen to respect, uphold and defend the Constitution. This obligation, and indeed the obligation placed on the citizen to obey the other laws as well, necessarily gives rise to a duty on the State to publish the law. The citizen’s obligation can therefore only be discharged where the citizen has easy access to an accurate, reliable and authoritative source of the text of the law.
Indeed, in the Bill of Rights, the Constitution establishes the citizen’s right to access ‘information held by the State’ and places a duty on the State to ‘publish and publicise important information affecting the nation’.
Therefore, at Kenya Law, we strongly believe that the free flow of information is fundamental for both access to knowledge and the development of culture. Public legal information is part of the common heritage of humanity and maximizing access to this information promotes justice and the rule of law. Such information, which includes the primary sources of law, should therefore be accessible to all citizens.
We are glad to present the first revised and consolidated edition of the Laws of Kenya since 1989. In keeping with our policy and our obligations on accessibility, the edition is provided and will continue to be updated in print, online and on CD-Rom; the digital edition is provided on a technology platform that meets the industry standard for openness and accessibility and the edition is free from unfair copyright restrictions.
I would like to acknowledge and appreciate the leadership provided by the Members of the Council for Law Reporting; the innovativeness, diligence and dedication of its Team Leaders and Team Players and the technical and financial support of the Attorney General and our development partners.
Our new brand identity - A new promise to the Mwananchi
11 October 2013
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KenyaLawBlog
The Hon. Dr. Willy M. Mutunga, D.Jur, S.C., E.G.H.
Chief Justice & President, Supreme Court of Kenya
Chairman,
October 2013
Nairobi, Kenya
We are making a bold promise. Understanding our role as the agency through which Kenya’s robust, indigenous, patriotic and progressive jurisprudence will be monitored, reported and also packaged as a product for export to other jurisdictions, and acknowledging our social justice obligation to provide public legal information that is open and accessible, we will be the gold standard by which law reporting and access to public legal information is measured. The people of Kenya, from whom our mandate is derived, the letter and spirit of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 and the Judiciary Transformation Framework requires nothing less of us.
The essence of our renewed sense of obligation is captured in our new slogan “Where Legal Information is Public Knowledge”. We have come to an enlightened understanding of our mandate and make a commitment to not merely be a provider of public legal information but the people’s fountain of knowledge and understanding of the law for the promotion of the rule of law and the advancement of a civilized society.
We have renewed our minds and rededicated ourselves to the national values and principles of public service set out in the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 and we have re-engineered our systems and processes to exceed the expectations the people, the Judiciary, our partners and our stakeholders. The essence of this renewal is expressed in a new brand identity - KENYA LAW.
The Laws of Kenya (Revised and Consolidated Edition) – A token of our commitment to providing quality public legal information
Committed, effective and comprehensive implementation of the Constitution will place Kenya on a social-democratic trajectory. The Constitution has fundamental and core pillars that can mitigate the current unsustainable and unacceptable status quo in our economic, social, cultural, ideological, and political sectors. Undermining the Constitution will destroy these pillars. The Constitution calls upon us to be patriotic. I do not see any other way of expressing our patriotism except in our expression of fidelity to the Constitution and its unequivocal implementation.
Kinachohitajika ni moyo wa dhati wa kuikubali Katiba na kuitekeleza. Hilo lisipofanyika basi hapatakuwa na usawa, demokrasia, utawala wa sheria, uhuru wa Mahakama, wala maendeleo yoyote yale katika jamii.
The Constitution of Kenya, 2010 places an obligation on every citizen to respect, uphold and defend the Constitution. This obligation, and indeed the obligation placed on the citizen to obey the other laws as well, necessarily gives rise to a duty on the State to publish the law. The citizen’s obligation can therefore only be discharged where the citizen has easy access to an accurate, reliable and authoritative source of the text of the law.
Indeed, in the Bill of Rights, the Constitution establishes the citizen’s right to access ‘information held by the State’ and places a duty on the State to ‘publish and publicise important information affecting the nation’.
Therefore, at Kenya Law, we strongly believe that the free flow of information is fundamental for both access to knowledge and the development of culture. Public legal information is part of the common heritage of humanity and maximizing access to this information promotes justice and the rule of law. Such information, which includes the primary sources of law, should therefore be accessible to all citizens.
We are glad to present the first revised and consolidated edition of the Laws of Kenya since 1989. In keeping with our policy and our obligations on accessibility, the edition is provided and will continue to be updated in print, online and on CD-Rom; the digital edition is provided on a technology platform that meets the industry standard for openness and accessibility and the edition is free from unfair copyright restrictions.
I would like to acknowledge and appreciate the leadership provided by the Members of the Council for Law Reporting; the innovativeness, diligence and dedication of its Team Leaders and Team Players and the technical and financial support of the Attorney General and our development partners.