NAIROBI, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Kenya vowed on Friday to speed up resolution of commercial disputes in order to boost the business environment.
Chief Justice David Maraga told journalists in Nairobi that despite the wide array of judicial reforms undertaken in the past decade, the commercial justice system is not as robust as it should.
"We will ensure that by the end of 2017, we have cleared all commercial disputes that are older than five years," Maraga said during the launch of the Commercial Law Guide book in Nairobi.
The book will act as a reference for judges and magistrates as well as the general public on the existing laws and judicial processes available for commercial dispute resolution.
Justice Maraga added that there are currently 5,000 pending cases in the commercial courts some of which are as old as ten years.
He added that Kenya will implement judicial reforms because the time taken by the justice system to resolve disputes in Kenya is above that of the global average.
The reforms to commercial dispute resolution are part of Kenya's efforts to improve the ease of doing business.
Maraga, who is also the President of the Supreme Court, said that faster resolution of commercial disputes will foster confidence of the business community in the legal system.
"The improved confidence that disputes will be resolved in an impartial and efficient manner will help to promote both foreign and domestic investment," he added.
"The booklet will serve as reference material for those dealing with commercial cases. It includes best practices in handling commercial disputes such illicit trade, customs, standards and intellectual properties," added the Chief Justice.
Kenya's development gains are hampered by backlog of cases and a host of business malpractices among them illicit trade, corruption, tax evasion, trading with substandard goods and infringement of intellectual properties.
This Guidebook provides a platform where the needs of law practitioners, business community and the general public are addressed.
The president of the Kenya Magistrates and Judges Association, Lady Justice Hedwig Ong'udi stated that the Guidebook was developed to help resolve commercial disputes.
"One of the major reasons why we are doing this is to deal with the monster called Backlog. This monster, which slows and even blocks the entire justice system in some cases, is almost entirely responsible for the negative vibe that we all get as the Judiciary," Lady Justice Ong'udi added.
