Practical analysis of Kenyan commercial law from CS Advocates LLP, litigation, conveyancing, mediation, governance, and infrastructure.
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The cheapest case is the one that is never filed. Much of Kenyan commercial litigation begins with a contract that was silent on the exact question the parties ended up arguing about, and by then the drafting options have narrowed. Which clauses actually prevent disputes? Clear scope, deliverables and payment terms, with dates and currencies … Read more
The debtor is a company, the demand letters have gone unanswered, and the account remains unpaid. Execution may yet find no assets worth seizing. For creditors facing a company that cannot or will not pay, the Insolvency Act provides a collective remedy: a petition to wind the company up and place it under liquidation, where … Read more
Judicial review is the mechanism by which Kenyan courts supervise the lawfulness of decisions by public bodies, licensing authorities, county governments, professional bodies, and procurement entities. For businesses, knowing when judicial review is available (and when it is not) can determine whether a grievance has a remedy at all. What are the grounds for judicial … Read more
Judgment has gone against you at the High Court. The next fortnight matters more than the next argument: appellate practice in Kenya is governed by deadlines, and the first one arrives quickly. Which High Court decisions can be appealed? The Court of Appeal, established under the Judicature Act (kenyalaw.org), hears appeals from the High Court … Read more
The court has ordered a company to stop using a supplier’s name, or to deliver up documents, or to release an interim amount. Months pass and nothing changes. A court order is only as effective as the consequences that follow disobedience, and the law on contempt supplies those consequences for commercial litigants on both sides … Read more
In most commercial suits the losing party is ordered to pay the winner’s costs, but not automatically at the amount the advocate has charged. Recovery is governed by the Advocates Remuneration Order. What is the difference between party-and-party and client costs? Client costs are what an advocate charges the client under their own retainer. Party-and-party … Read more
Defendants are not obliged to meet every claim as filed. Where a suit appears designed to pressure rather than to vindicate a right, the court has two established shields: security for costs and its control of abuse of process. When can a defendant seek security for costs? The Civil Procedure Rules allow the court to … Read more
Private mediation lets parties choose a neutral mediator and negotiate a practical settlement before a dispute becomes more expensive or disruptive. It is a voluntary process designed around the parties, their timetable and the commercial or family relationship they want to preserve. When private mediation is useful It can suit contract, shareholder, property, insurance, family-business … Read more
Time quietly defeats claims. A debt six years and one day old may already be unrecoverable, however strong the documents, which is why limitation periods belong in every receivables review. What are the limitation periods for common commercial claims? The Limitation of Actions Act (Cap 22) sets the clock. Actions founded on contract or tort … Read more
A judgment is not money in the account. Until it is enforced, a commercial litigant holds a document rather than a payment, and Kenyan law provides several routes for converting one into the other. What is execution against property? The most familiar route. The decree holder applies for warrants, and the court’s executive officer attaches … Read more
A distributor fails to pay for delivered goods. A contractor abandons the site half-way through the works. When one party does not perform its side of a bargain, the question that follows is practical: what can the injured party actually recover? Kenyan law offers a set of remedies whose selection shapes both the strategy and … Read more
A defendant owes a fixed, documented sum and has filed a defence that says almost nothing. Must the plaintiff still wait for a full trial? Under the Civil Procedure Rules 2010, not necessarily. What is a liquidated demand? A liquidated demand is a sum ascertained by calculation or from the documents: a dishonoured cheque, an … Read more
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