NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 8 – Supreme Court Judge Mohammed Ibrahim has urged students of law to master constitutional law and embrace legal reasoning and precedent, as valuable lessons they can take from the work of the Supreme Court.
The Judge who also called on them to be agents of change and uphold ethical standards, argued that as young legal minds, they are the future of the Judiciary, the legal profession, and policy-making in Kenya.
Justice Ibrahim noted that understanding the Supreme Court’s role, jurisdiction, and landmark jurisprudence will equip them to engage with the law meaningfully.
“Law is dynamic. Just as the Supreme Court has evolved over the years, you too can contribute to legal reforms and policy development in Kenya,” the Judge said.
He reiterated that the Supreme Court will continue to play a critical role in shaping Kenya’s legal and governance landscape adding that as law students, they have to engage critically with its jurisprudence, challenge legal inconsistencies, and contribute to the evolution of Kenya’s legal system.
The Supreme Court Judge was speaking at the Kenya School of Law when he gave a public lecture on, “Defining Its Reach: The Supreme Court’s Jurisprudence on Jurisdiction” as part of Lecture Circuits, conducted to celebrate the Supreme Court @12 years.
Justice Ibrahim noted that it is a great privilege to speak about a subject that is not only central to the legal system but also critical in shaping Kenya’s constitutional democracy – the Supreme Court of Kenya.
“We acknowledge that the Court has been coupled with both successes and challenges in its existence. As we reflect on the Court’s journey we must ask ourselves: how did we get here as a Court? The answer to this question calls for a journey down memory lane and an examination of the judicial journey of Kenya.”
The judge outlined the court’s jurisdiction saying that in some cases, the Court has had to define the bounds of its jurisdiction, or sometimes declining to extend it, while in other cases, the Court’s authority has occasionally needed to be broadened by the Court.
He noted that over the years the Court has streamlined the procedure on how to invoke its various jurisdictions and delimited the contours of each of those jurisdictions.