Calibrating the weighing scales of justice: applying the standards of high moral character, integrity and impartiality to judges in Kenya

The concern of this study is the implementation of Kenya’s 2010 Constitution requirement that judges should be appointed from among persons who have “high moral character, integrity and impartiality.” \nThrough this provision, the republic of Kenya sought to anchor the ideal of having good judges in the basic law of the land. This anchoring is novel given that in most countries, this ideal is taken for a given and so it is not normally explicitly stated in the law. The thesis adopts a multidisciplinary approach by making use of moral philosophy, legal history, comparative law, and biographical research to investigate the meaning ascribed to the terms used in the constitutional requirement under study as well as its implementation through statutory interventions and institutional arrangements. \nAn analysis of ancient and modern philosophical theories reveals the basis of the meaning ascribed to the concepts of character and integrity by institutions and courts of various countries which have at one point or another sought to implement or explicate them on various occasions in the realms of evidence law, immigration law and administrative law. \nIn the last six years, since the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution, Kenya has also undertaken various legislative and institutional measures geared towards implementing the requirement. This study will therefore also entail an analysis of the legal texts, institutional arrangements and other mechanisms/procedures that have been adopted in Kenya for this purpose. The analysis and critique of these devices is undertaken through the prism of case studies on the appointment, vetting and removal of judges that has happened in Kenya in that period. The study aims at checking whether the arrangements made are apt for attaining the lofty constitutional aspiration on the calibre of judges that Kenya desires to have. Given the importance ascribed by the Constitution to the ideals of character and integrity for judges, this study also looks at how those personal qualities are acquired by future judges and maintained by incumbent ones. This entails a study of the ethical and moral training prevailing in Kenya generally since judges are Kenyans in the first place. \nIt is thus fitting to trace their educational trajectory as Kenyans in order to detect the level and nature of character and ethical training imparted at various levels of the formal and informal education in Kenya. \nThe thesis found that it is possible to ascribe practical meaning to the terms moral character and integrity which is necessary for their practical application. It also found out that there are various ways in which moral character and integrity can be attained and maintained by individuals. The application of the requirement that judges should be persons of high moral character and integrity has been attempted in Kenya and what remains to be seen is whether it will lead to the building of a trustworthy and competent judiciary which Kenyans aspire for.