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Matrimonial Property in the Supreme Court – Part III: A Holistic View of Matrimonial Property

If the matrimonial property belongs entirely to each spouse, it is simply incorrect to speak of them owning the property in “proportions” as the Supreme Court did. The proportion proper to each spouse is the whole. And while it is true that some people may actively mistreat, manipulate, or exploit their spouses, these problems are properly dealt with according to the logic of self-gift that animates the union of marriage. What a man has given does not belong to him anymore.

Matrimonial Property in the Supreme Court – Part II: What is Really at Stake

Here, it would be appropriate to consider what property is and its place in a marriage. In the modern context, we commonly think of property as a thing that we have the right to use without restraint (at least, in principle), and from which we have the right to exclude others.[1] Things that we own are surrounded, figuratively speaking (or even literally!),[2] by a fence. We have a right to use whatever is on our side of the fence however we want, provided that we don’t interfere with other people’s capacity to do the same. Our property is our own, and we decide what to do with it. Like our own purpose, the purpose of our property is up to us to decide.

Matrimonial property in the Supreme Court – Part I: Distribution according to spouses’ “contributions”

At the heart of this judgment lie conflicting notions of property and marriage, giving rise to divergent notions of matrimonial property. The Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal use terms falling on either side of this divide when ruling on the appropriate distribution of matrimonial property. The realities these terms signify remain the same, regardless of the actual opinions of the judges who used them.

More Just Inheritance Laws for Our Sisters and Mothers: Provisions of the Law of Succession Act Deemed Unconstitutional

Conforming the definition of “spouse” in the Law of Succession Act to that in the Marriage Act. This would mean that, even for purposes of succession, men in monogamous marriages would have no legal capacity to marry other women under customary law, and their wives in their monogamous marriages would need not fear being automatically disinherited of matrimonial property. This is especially important given that, as of 2019, there are six times more widows than widowers in Kenya.[1] Even biologically, men just have a lower life expectancy.

LEGAL ALERT: The Employment and Labour Relations Court does not have jurisdiction to hear and determine constitutional issues if the dispute did not arise from an employer-employee dispute – Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal in Kenya recently overturned a judgement by the Employment and Labour Relations Court (“ELRC”) that declared the National Social Security Fund (“NSSF”) Act unconstitutional. The Court of Appeal found that the ELRC lacked jurisdiction to consider the constitutionality of the Act as the dispute was not between an employer and employee, the sole statutory purview of ELRC’s jurisdiction. The...

Vicarious Liability of Employers: The Case of an Independent Contractor

"..the burden of proof in any case…lies with the party who desires any court to give judgment as to any legal right or liability; (it) is for that party to show the facts which he alleges his case depends upon exist... A 14 year legal dispute culminated in a January 2020 decision of the Court of Appeal at Nairobi. This was in Board of Governors St. Mary’s School v Boli Festus Andrew Sio [2020] eKLR where the firm of Nyiha, Mukoma & Company Advocates represented the Appellant.

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Nyihamukoma & Co AdvocatesContact us
Advocates, Commissioners for Oaths and Notaries Public.
OUR LOCATIONWhere to find us?
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P.O. Box 28491- 00200 Nairobi Kenya
GET IN TOUCHNyihamukoma Social links
Visit our social pages.
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