Arvinder Sambei was engaged by UNODC to attend a meeting arranged with the ACM Committee, Judicial Training Institute (JTI) and UNODC to discuss the current 2016 Guidelines for Active Case Management of Criminal Cases in Magistrate Courts and High Courts of Kenya, which were issued by the Chief Justice for staged implementation.

The ACM Guidelines had been developed by in January 2016 and were launched in 3 pilot court stations in Kenya – Mombasa (including Tononoka and Shanzu), Naivasha and Machakos. The Guidelines are described as setting out ‘‘best practice’ in the governance of criminal trials and appeals’ and comprise of 12 principles for general application in criminal cases, except ‘where specific procedural rules’ have been issued for ‘specific crimes’; in such instances the ACM guidelines provide a general steer.

As the global guardian of the UN Standards and Norms in Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, UNODC is mandated to support Member States in upholding the Rule of Law, promoting crime prevention and effective, fair, humane and accountable criminal justice systems in line with the United Nations standards and norms on crime prevention and criminal justice and other relevant international legal instruments.

In line with this mandate, UNODC’s project titled “Strengthening the Administration of Justice and operationalising alternatives to imprisonment in Kenya” aims to support to the Government of Kenya (GoK) to strengthen efficiency in delivery of judicial services.

Following three evaluations on the impact and challenges of the Guidelines,

• The meeting discussed the development of a practitioners’ ACM manual and a roll out programme across Kenya.
• The practitioner/training manual will be drafted by Arvinder Sambei and Martin Polaine.

Related links:

https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/sites/devco/files/ad-1.1-kenya-2016_en.pdf

Criminal Justice System in Kenya: An Audit (2016)

http://kenyalaw.org/kenyalawblog/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Criminal_Justice_Report.pdf