Noor Mohammed v CMC Aviation Limited [2016] KECA 117 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Court of Appeal refused to let a pilot's private employment dispute reach the Supreme Court, ruling it raised no issue of general public importance.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Questions the Court framed
#The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.
- 1.Whether the intended appeal to the Supreme Court raises a matter of general public importance justifying certification under Article 163(4)(b) of the Constitution
Key legal issues
#Whether the intended appeal raises a matter of general public importance under Article 163(4)(b)
The intended appeal does not raise a matter of general public importance; certification is refused and the application is dismissed with costs.
The dispute arose out of an employment contract between two private persons and concerned purely private rights. The issues the applicant sought to canvass in the Supreme Court, including general questions about labour rights as human rights and computation of damages, were neither raised in the Industrial Court nor argued in the appeal before the Court of Appeal. Applying the principles in Hermanus Phillipus Steyn v Giovanni Gnecchi-Ruscone, the applicant failed to show that the issues transcend the particular case or bear significantly on the public interest.
Legal principles established
#- Under Article 163(4)(b), a matter certified for appeal to the Supreme Court must involve questions of general public importance whose interest transcends the private circumstances of the litigants; questions of law intended to be raised must have arisen in the courts below and have been the subject of judicial determination
- A private employment contract dispute concerning purely private rights does not meet the threshold of a matter of general public importance for certification
Court orders
#- 1.Leave to appeal to the Supreme Court declined; certificate of general public importance refused
- 2.The applicant's motion dismissed with costs
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
- On appeal from
- Court of Appeal at Nairobi
- Civil Appeal No. 199 of 2013
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Article 163(4)(b) of the Constitution of Kenya (certification of a matter of general public importance)
Relief refused
#Leave to appeal to the Supreme Court and certification that the intended appeal raises a matter of general public importance
The intended appeal did not raise matters of general public importance; the issues to be canvassed were neither canvassed below nor transcend the private interests of the parties
Costs
The applicant's motion was dismissed with costs (costs payable by the applicant to the respondent).
Quotable passages
#Verbatim from the judgment, each located to the page it appears on in the official PDF — so these can be cited and checked directly.
It is evident from these prayers that the applicant’s claim in the Industrial Court was purely anchored on rights arising from the employer-employee relationship resulting from the applicant’s employment contract. Thus, the suit concerned purely private rights and cannot be said to concern public interest.
the question or questions of law intended to be raised in the Supreme Court must have arisen in the courts below and have been the subject of judicial determination
Accordingly, we decline to issue a certificate and dismiss the applicant’s motion with costs.
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Noor Mohammed v CMC Aviation Limited [2016] KECA 117 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2016). Civil Application No. SUP 13 of 2015 (UR No.10/2015). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2016/117/eng@2016-11-04
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.