BBI judgement: Terms you need to know

NARC Kenya leader Martha Karua speaks at the Supreme Court building on Friday, July 2 during the hearing of the BBI appeal. [Collins Kweyu, Standard]

Today, the Court of Appeal is expected to give a verdict on the nullification of the Constitutional Amendment Bill 2020 dubbed the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).

Here is a glossary of terms useful in interpreting the submissions being made today:

Appellant: A person or any party in a case who applies to a higher court with an application to reverse the decision of a lower court.

Respondent: A party who responds to an appeal made by an appellant and who defends the decision that led to the appeal.

Plaintiff: An individual or party who brings a case against another in a court of law.

Defendant: An individual, company, institution or any party that has been sued in court.

Ruling: A court decision on any legal question presented before it during the course of litigation.

Injunction: A court order requiring a person or an institution to either do or stop doing a specific action.

Judgement: The final court’s official pronouncement to resolve all the contested issues in a lawsuit which brings the case to an end.

Interested Party:  Is a person with an identifiable stake or legal interest in proceedings before the court.

Amicus Curiae: Latin word for a “friend of the court” who is not party to the case but is enjoined to submit on matters of law to help the court in reaching its decision

Recuse: To disqualify or remove oneself as a judge or magistrate over conflict of interest or bias.

Bench: A group of uneven judges sitting as a collective whole.

Inter alia: Latin word used in legal pleadings to mean “among other things.”