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Legal Framework for Natural Resources Community Benefit Sharing in Kenya

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By Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD (Leading Environmental Law Scholar, Policy Advisor, Natural Resources Lawyer and Dispute Resolution Expert from Kenya), Winner of Kenya’s ADR Practitioner of the Year 2021, ADR Publisher of the Year 2021 and CIArb (Kenya) Lifetime Achievement Award 2021*

Equitable benefit sharing can be defined as the access to benefits that accrue from natural resources by stakeholders including indigenous communities. The international recognition of the right to benefit from natural resources wealth may be predicated upon such recognized rights of communities as the right to self-determination, right to development and the right of peoples to freely dispose of their wealth and natural resources. The principle of equitable benefit sharing is acknowledged in several international environmental and natural resources law instruments. As a potentially major importer of oil in future, the discovery of oil is deemed as a major boost to the Kenyan economy. The economic value of oil is expected to be high and central to the development of the local community, though it has its benefits and challenges in equal measure.

Indeed, it has been reported that the discovery of oil has facilitated infrastructural developments such as schools, health amenities and making the area easily accessible. Within two years of discovery, buildings were erected, human population was recorded at 500% growth in several towns within Turkana County. This is an indication of the high hopes that have been pegged on the potential benefits that may accrue from this venture. Benefits may take either monetary or non-monetary forms and stakeholders should exploit both forms. Capacity building within the community ensures that communities become less dependent on the immediate benefits accruing from commercial exploitation of the resources and instead have enduring sources of livelihoods. Research may go a long way in helping communities realize the other forms of investments or economic activities that may be viable within their localities. Thus, communities should not only seek to receive the monetary benefits but should also take advantage by acquiring the relevant skills and investing in businesses or venture that will help them in the long term even after the oil reserves are depleted.

The Constitution outlines the principles of land policy and provides that land in Kenya must be held, used and managed in a manner that is equitable, efficient, productive and sustainable, and in accordance with the laid down constitutional principles. Land in Kenya is classified as public, community or private. Noteworthy is the provision that regardless of their location, the Constitution classifies all minerals and mineral oils as defined by law and all rivers, lakes and other water bodies as defined by an Act of Parliament as forming part of public land. The Natural Resources (Classes of Transactions Subject to Ratification) Act, 2016 is meant to give effect to Article 71 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 and for connected purposes.

Notably, the Act outlines the relevant considerations in deciding whether or not to ratify an agreement. The proposed legislation Natural Resources (Benefit Sharing Bill), 2018 seeks to establish a system of benefit sharing in resource exploitation between resource exploiters, the national government, county governments and local communities, to establish the natural resources benefit sharing authority and for connected purposes. The Act applies with respect to petroleum and natural gas, among other natural resources. The Act provides for guiding principles to include transparency and inclusivity, revenue maximization and adequacy, efficiency and equity and accountability. The legislation proposes setting up a Benefit Sharing Authority which will be mandated to coordinate the preparation of benefit sharing agreements between local communities and affected organizations, and review and where appropriate determine the loyalties payable to an affected organization engaged in natural resource exploitation, among other related functions.

The Environmental Management and Co-ordination (Amendment) Act, 2015 amends section 48 of EMCA by inserting subsection (3) to the effect that where a forested area is declared to be a protected area under section 54(1), the Cabinet Secretary may cause to be ascertained, any individual, community or government interests in the land and forests and shall provide incentives to promote community conservation. This is an important clause that can promote forests conservation through the use of incentives. The incentives can be in the form of benefits that accrue to the community from the forests resources. The Mining Act, 2016 provides for accruing benefits in the form of financial and other benefaction to which communities in mining areas are entitled to receive from the proceeds of mining and related activities.

The Petroleum Act, 2019 provides that the relationship between the Government and an exploration and production company is governed by a Production Sharing Contract (PSC). The PSC stipulates that the exploration and production company gets a share of the oil and gas produced and its share is in the form of oil barrels. Notably, the Act introduces the concept of “local content” which means the added value brought to the Kenyan economy from petroleum related activities through systematic development of national capacity and capabilities and investment in developing and procuring locally available work force, services and supplies, for the sharing of accruing benefits. The local content plan should address- employment and training; research and development; technology transfer; industrial attachment and apprenticeship; legal services; financial services; insurance services; and succession plans for positions not held by Kenyans. The requirement on local content can go a long way in enhancing benefit sharing mechanism in the extractive industry in Kenya, an aspect that was missing or inadequate in the Kenyan framework.

The National Sovereign Wealth Fund Bill, 2019 is a proposed legislation that seeks to establish the Kenya Sovereign Wealth Fund, to provide institutional arrangements for effective administration and efficient management of minerals and petroleum revenues, and for connected purposes and incidentals thereto. The purpose of the Fund shall be to — insulate expenditure under the budget estimates of the national government from fluctuations in resource revenues; provide finance for infrastructure development priorities to foster strong and inclusive growth and development; and build a savings base for future generations when minerals and petroleum resources are exhausted. This fund will be important in promoting intergenerational and intragenerational equity in natural resource benefits sharing.

The Community Land Act, 2016 is meant to give effect to Article 63 (5) of the Constitution; to provide for the recognition, protection and registration of community land rights; management and administration of community land; to provide for the role of county governments in relation to unregistered community land and for connected purposes. The Act provides that every member of the community has the right to equal benefit from community land, where equality includes full and equal enjoyment of rights of use and access. This is a form of promoting benefit sharing as far as community land is concerned. This provision, if fully implemented, is likely to impact positively on the community in ways that ensure that the community becomes self-sustaining as far as livelihood sustenance is concerned through both monetary and non-monetary forms of benefits.

*This article is an extract from the Article: Securing Our Destiny through Effective Management, (2020) Journal of Conflict Management and Sustainable Development Volume 4(3), p. 1.  by Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD, Kenya’s ADR Practitioner of the Year 2021 (Nairobi Legal Awards), ADR Publisher of the Year 2021 and ADR Lifetime Achievement Award 2021 (CIArb Kenya). Dr. Kariuki Muigua is a foremost Environmental Law and Natural Resources Lawyer and Scholar, Sustainable Development Advocate and Conflict Management Expert in Kenya. Dr. Kariuki Muigua is a Senior Lecturer of Environmental Law and Dispute resolution at the University of Nairobi School of Law and The Center for Advanced Studies in Environmental Law and Policy (CASELAP). He has published numerous books and articles on Environmental Law, Environmental Justice Conflict Management, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Sustainable Development. Dr. Muigua is also a Chartered Arbitrator, an Accredited Mediator, the Africa Trustee of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Managing Partner of Kariuki Muigua & Co. Advocates. Dr. Muigua is recognized among the top 5 leading lawyers and dispute resolution experts in Kenya by the Chambers Global Guide 2022.

References

Community Land Act, No. 27 of 2016, Laws of Kenya.

Convention on Biological Diversity; OECD Energy Charter Treaty 1994; Annex to the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing; CISDL, ‘The Principles of International Law Related to Sustainable Development,’ available at http://cisdl.org/tribunals/overview/principles/1.html [Accessed on 21/01/2020].

Environment (Management and Coordination) Act, No.8 of 1999, Laws of Kenya.

Jonge, B., What is Fair and Equitable Benefit Sharing? Journal on agricultural and environmental ethics, vol. 24, issue 2, 2011.

Kornet, J., ‘Oil in the cradle of mankind – A glimpse of Africa’s future,’ available at http://www.frontiermarketscompendium.com/index.php/newscommentary/entry/oil-in-the-cradle-of-mankind-a-glimpse-of-africa-s-future [Accessed on 21/01/2020].

Mining Act, No. 12 of 2016, Laws of Kenya.

Muigua, K., et al, Natural Resources and Environmental Justice in Kenya, (Glenwood Publishers Limited, August, 2015), pp. 248-251.

National Sovereign Wealth Fund Bill, 2019.

Natural Resources (Classes of Transactions Subject to Ratification) Act, 2016.

Natural Resources (Benefit Sharing) Bill, 2018, 23rd October, 2018 (Government Printer, Nairobi, 2018), Kenya Gazette Supplement No.130 (Senate Bills No.31).

Petroleum Act, No. 2 of 2019, Laws of Kenya.

UN General Assembly, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 16 December 1966, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 999, p. 171, Article 1.

The 2015 Economic Survey Report by Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. 603 http://www.tradingeconomic.com/kenya/imports [Accessed on 21/01/2020].

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The Roles of the Three Parts of the Permanent Court of Arbitration

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H.E. Amb. Marcin Czepelak, the Fourteenth Secretary-General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA)

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Brief History of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA)

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By Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD, C.Arb, Current Member of Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Representing the Republic of Kenya.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is a 124 Years Old Intergovernmental Organization currently with 122 contracting states. It was established at the turn of 20th Century during the first Hague Peace Conference held between 18th May and 29th July 1899. The conference was an initiative of then Russian Czar Nicholas II to discuss peace and disarmament and specifically with the object of “seeking the most effective means of ensuring to all peoples the benefits of a real and lasting peace, and, above all, of limiting the progressive development of existing armaments.” The culmination of the conference was the adoption of a Convention on the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes, which dealt not only with arbitration but also with other methods of pacific settlement, such as good offices and mediation.

The aim of the conference was to “strengthen systems of international dispute resolution” especially international arbitration which in the last century had proven effective for the purpose with number of successful international arbitrations being concluded among Nations. The Alabama arbitration of 1871-1872 between the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) under the Treaty of Washington of 1871 culminating in the arbitral tribunal’s award that the UK pay the US compensation for breach of neutrality during American Civil War which it did had demonstrated the effectiveness of arbitration in settling of international disputes and piqued interest of many practitioners in it as a mode of dispute resolution during the latter years of the nineteenth century.

The Institut de Droit International adopted a code of procedure for arbitration in 1875 to answer the need for a general law of arbitration governing for countries and parties wishing to have recourse to international arbitration. The growth of arbitration as a mode of international dispute resolution formed the background of the 1899 conference and informed its most enduring achievement, namely, the establishment of the PCA as the first global mechanism for the settlement of disputes between states. Article 16 of the 1899 Convention recognized that “in questions of a legal nature, and especially in the interpretation or application of International Conventions” arbitration is the “most effective, and at the same time the most equitable, means of settling disputes which diplomacy has failed to settle.”

In turn, the 1899 Convention provided for the creation of permanent machinery to enable the setting up of arbitral tribunals as necessary and to facilitate their work under the auspices of the institution it named as the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA). In particular, Article 20 of the 1899 Convention stated that “[w]ith the object of facilitating an immediate recourse to arbitration for international differences which it has not been possible to settle by diplomacy, the signatory Powers undertake to organize a Permanent Court of Arbitration, accessible at all times and operating, unless otherwise stipulated by the parties, in accordance with the rules of procedure inserted in the present Convention.” In effect, the Convention set up a permanent system of international arbitration and institutionalized the law and practice of arbitration in a definite and acceptable way.

As a result, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) was established in 1900 and began operating in 1902. The PCA as established consisted of a panel of jurists designated by each country acceding to the Convention with each country being entitled to designate up to four from among whom the members of each arbitral tribunal might be chosen. In addition, the Convention created a permanent Bureau, located in The Hague, with functions similar to those of a court registry or secretariat. The 1899 Convention also laid down a set of rules of procedure to govern the conduct of arbitrations under the PCA framework.

The second Hague Peace Conference in 1907 saw a revision of the 1899 Convention and improvement of the rules governing arbitral proceedings. Today, the PCA has developed into a modern, multi-faceted arbitral institution perfectly situated to meet the evolving dispute resolution needs of the international community. The Permanent Court of Arbitration has also diversified its service offering alongside those contemplated by the Conventions. For instance, today the International Bureau of the Permanent Court of Arbitration serves as a registry in important international arbitrations. In 1993, the Permanent Court of Arbitration adopted new “Optional Rules for Arbitrating Disputes between Two Parties of Which Only One Is a State” and, in 2001, “Optional Rules for Arbitration of Disputes Relating to Natural Resources and/or the Environment”.

Reference

PCA Website: https://pca-cpa.org/en/about/introduction/history/ (accessed on 25th May 2023).

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Former KCB Company Secretary Sues Over Unlawful Dismissal

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Former KCB Group Company Secretary Joseph Kamau Kania who has sued the Bank for Unlawful Dismissal

Former KCB Group Company Secretary Joseph Kamau Kania has sued the lender seeking reinstatement or be compensated for illegal sacking almost three years ago. Lawyer Kania was the KCB Group company secretary until restructuring of the lender in 2021 that saw some senior executives dropped.

Through the firm of Senior Counsel Wilfred Nderitu, Kamau wants the court to order KCB Group to unconditionally reinstate him to employment without altering any of the contractual terms until his retirement in December 2025.

In his court documents filed before Employment and Labour Relations Court, the career law banker seeks the court to declare the reorganization of the company structure a nullity and amounted to a violation of his fundamental right to fair labour practices as guaranteed in Article 41(1) of the Constitution. He further wants the court to declare that the position of Group Company Secretary did not at any time cease to exist within the KCB Group structure.

He further urged the Employment Court to declare that the recruitment and appointment of Bonnie Okumu, his former assistant, as the Group Company Secretary, in relation to the contemporaneous termination of his employment, was unprocedural, insufficient and inappropriate to infer a lawful termination of his employment.

“A declaration that the factual and legal circumstances of the Petitioner’s termination of employment were insufficient and inappropriate to infer a redundancy against him, and that any redundancy declared by the KCB Group in relation to him was therefore null, void and of no legal effect and amounted to a violation of his fundamental right to fair labour practices as guaranteed in Article 41(1) of the Constitution,” seeks lawyer Kamau.

Kamau says he was subjected to discriminatory practices by the KCB Bank Group in violation of his fundamental right to equality and freedom from discrimination as guaranteed in Article 27 of the Constitution and the termination of his employment was unfair, unjustified, illegal, null and void.

Lawyer Kamau further seeks the court to declare that the Non-Compete Clause in the 2016 Contract is unenforceable by the KCB Group as against him and is voidable by him as against the Bank ab initio, byreason of the termination of the Petitioner’s employment having been a violation of Articles 41(1) and 47(1) and (2) of the Constitution, and of the Employment Act.

He also wants the Employment Court to find that finding that KCB’s group legal representation by Messrs of Mohammed Muigai LLP Advocates law firm in respect of his claim for unlawful termination of employment resulted in a clear conflict of interest by reason of the fact that a Founding and Senior Partner at the said firm lawyer Mohammed Nyaoga is also the Chairman of the CBK’s Board of Directors.

“A Declaration that the circumstances of KCB’s legal representation by Messrs. Mohammed Muigai LLP Advocates resulted in a violation of the Petitioner’s fundamental right to have the employment dispute decided independently and impartially, as guaranteed in Article 50(1) of the Constitution,” seeks lawyer Kamau.

Kamau is seeking damages against both KCB Group and Central Bank of Kenya jointly and severally for the violation of his constitutional and fundamental right to fair labour practices.

He wants  further wants court to declare that CBK is liable to petitioner on account of its breach of statutory duty to effectively regulate KCB Group to ensure that KCB complied with the Central Bank of Kenya Prudential Guidelines and all other Laws, Rules, Codes and Standards, and that, as an issuer of securities, it complied with capital markets legislation.

Kamau through his lawyer Nderitu told the court that he was involved in Shareholder engagement in introducing the Group aide-mémoire that significantly improved the management of the Annual General Meetings, including obtaining approval without voting through the Memorandum and Articles of Association of Kenya Commercial Bank Limited among others.

He said that during his employment at KCB Bank Kenya and with the KCB Group, he initially worked well with former KCB CEO Joseph Oigara until 2016 when the CEO allegedly started sidelining him by removing the legal function from his reporting line.

He further claims he was transferred from the Group’s offices at Kencom House to its offices Upper Hill under the guise that the Petitioner was merely to support the KCB Group Board.

He adds that at that point his roles were given to Okumu for reasons that were not related to work demands.  He stated that Oigara at one time proposed that he should leave his role in the KCB Group and go and serve as the Company Secretary of the National Bank of Kenya Limited, a subsidiary of the Group, a suggestion which he disagreed with to Oigara’s utter annoyance.

Kamau stated that his work was thenceforth unfairly discredited, leading to his being taken through a disciplinary process whose intended outcome failed miserably, and the Petitioner was vindicated.

“More specifically, the Petitioner contends that the purported creation of a new organizational structure towards the end of 2020 was in fact Oigara’s orchestration targeted to remove certain individuals by requiring them to undergo interviews in the pretext that new roles were created, and amounted to a further violation of the Petitioner’s fundamental right to fair labour practices under Article 41(1) of the Constitution,” said in his court documents.

He further adds that this sham reorganization demonstrates how the role of the KCB Group Company Secretary purportedly ceased to be and was then very briefly replaced with a new role of the KCB Group General Counsel. The role of KCB Group Company Secretary then ‘resurfaced’ immediately thereafter, in total violation of legal and regulatory requirements.

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