LSK President disagrees with Supreme Court ruling on Finance Act, 2023

Law Society of Kenya President Faith Odhiambo. [File, Standard]

Law Society of Kenya President Faith Odhiambo has expressed her dissatisfaction with the Supreme Court verdict on public participation in the Finance Act, 2023.

Hours after the ruling, Odhiambo took to his official social media pages to disagree.

Instead, she asked the apex court to give clear guidance on how to conduct public participation in future cases.

"We respectfully disagree with the approach taken by the court. Expeditiousness of the legislative process cannot be said to override legitimate expectation and public interest, nor can Parliament be exempt from the need to rationalise their decision under the guise of the legislative process not constituting an administrative action," her post reads.

"We however hope that should the Court be invited to make future considerations on the subject of Public Participation, they will provide a more elaborate and purposive guidance on the modalities, scope and extent of Public Participation; with a view of closing the gaping loopholes created by today's determination for Parliament to act contemptuous to views collected during public engagements,"

Additionally, the LSK President has agreed with the court's recommendation for the enactment of the statute to guide public participation. 

On Tuesday evening, the Supreme Court cleared the Finance Act, of 2023.

The decision by the seven judges led by Chief Justice Martha Koome will now allow the government to implement the provisions of the Act, which are essential for tax collection after the Finance Bill, 2024, was rejected.