Deputy Chief Justice Kalpana Rawal Lawyer s Kioko Kilukumi and George Oraro leaving Milimani law courts after they were directed to serve Judicial Service Commission in an application DCJ is challenging her retirement notice to take effect on 2016 on Monday September 14,2015.
BY SAM ALFAN.
Deputy Chief Justice Kalpana Rawal has filed a petition in the high court challenging the of Judicial Service Commission to issue her retirement notice to take effect on 2016.
Justice Rawal says that the communication by JSC through a notice and advertisement in local newspapers over the weekend is arbitrary, illegal and unconstitutional.
Through her lawyer Kioko Kilukumi and George Oraro, told Justice Isaac Lenaola, that the Judicial Service Commission has violated section 3(1) of the sixth schedule to the constitution by choosing to retire her after attainment of the 70 years.
She has also sued the secretary to the JSC who issued the communication an placed an advertisement in Sunday Standard of 13 September 2015.
She will be asking the court when the matter comes for inter parties on Wednesday 16, that a declaration be issued to JSC effectively it has no constitutional and statutory role in the allocation of judicial duties to individual judges and cannot therefore purport to issue notice for reticent.
Kilukumi told the court that the judges will application for an order to quash both notice and advertisement declaring her position vacant come the 2016.
Rawal will turn 70 year in 2016, she is Vice President of the supreme court, was appointed as commissioners of Assize on 2 June1999 and thereafter a judge of the high court Under section 62 of the repealed constitution.
The JSC served the Justice Rawal with the notice to retire on the 1st of September 2015 and went on to advertise the position in local dailies five days later.
In a letter dated September 10, Justice Rawal said: “The issue of the retirement age for judges who were serving as at the date of the promulgation of the 2010 constitution has been the subject of debate.”
“By letter dated May 24, 2011, the JSC informed all judges that by virtue of Section 31(1) of the Sixth Schedule of the constitution, the tenure of the judges who had served under the old constitution their retirement age would be maintained at 74 years,’ the letter further stated.
Faced with a possible constitutional crisis over judges’ retirement age, the JSC last week stopped all judges who have attained the age of 70 from presiding over any case.
JSC also issued the notice to the Chief Justice Dr.Willy Mutunga who is expected to retire next year when he attains the age of 70.
