Common legal terms that may pop up during the election petition

A pre-trial conference of the presidential election petition began on Tuesday, August 30, at the Supreme Court.

The court has consolidated seven petitions challenging William Ruto's win in the August 9 polls into one. The apex court has also framed nine key issues it will be determining in the election petition, as told here.

Listed below are common terms that you will likely hear throughout the petition period as some of Kenya's best legal minds battle it out in court.

Interlocutory applications

They are applications that happen before the main hearing to sort out issues that a particular party are interested in.

In this particular presidential petition, the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Anne Amadi disclosed that there are roughly twenty interlocutory applications so far, most being those who want to be enjoined as friends of the court.

At the same time, the court can issue interlocutory orders while a case is still ongoing, before the final resolution of the case.

Amicus Curiae

It is a Latin term meaning 'Friend of the court'.

In most cases, an individual or a group of people who are not a party to a case but have interests in the matter seek to be enjoined in the case.
For example, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) sort to be admitted as a friend to the court (amicus curiae), in the presidential petitions that have been filed at the Supreme Court of Kenya.

In an affidavit that has listed the Azimio La Umoja-One Kenya leaders Raila Odinga and Martha Karua as petitioners and all the commissioners of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in addition to the president-elect William Ruto as respondents, LSK sort to be part of the petition based on its expertise, experience and knowledge relevant to the determination of the petition.

Stay of execution

This term is mostly used in law courts where the judges or magistrates temporarily suspend the execution of a court judgment or other court order. It is similar to an injunction.

Jurisprudence

Basically the term means "the study, the science of the knowledge or the philosophy of law" and is derived from the Latin term juris prudential.

Bar

The bar is the legal profession as an institution. In a court of law, the bar separates the parts of a courtroom reserved for spectators and those reserved for participants in a trial such as lawyers.

When law students graduate, the get admitted to the bar.

Bench

The term bench is used to describe a section or all the judges of a particular court.

For example, a seven-judge bench will be ruling on the presidential petition led by Chief Justice Martha Koome.