| dc.description.abstract | The Judiciary is one of the three equal arms of government with sole responsibility of adjudicating and solving legal disputes. When matters take time in the resolution of legal disputes and mounting case backlogs erodes public confidence in courts as an avenue for resolving legal disputes. The main objective of this study was to develop a systems dynamics model for resolution of legal disputes for judiciary in Kenya. This study was expected to add to the missing literature on the dynamics that drove the judiciary in the resolution/disposal of cases in courts across the country. It was also expected that the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) would use information gathered in this study to develop policies that would support effective and efficient management of cases from registration to their conclusion in order to reduce delays in resolution of legal disputes. The research adopted dynamic synthesis methodology (DSM) which extensively combines both system dynamics and case study research. DSM was used in this research to collect qualitative data that could not be extracted from existing records. The sample size of 12 respondents was drawn from a total population of 15 members of staff performing the core functions of the judiciary in Kisumu High Court using Nasiurma’s model (2000). The sample size was 80% of the entire population of staff performing core functions of the judiciary in the criminal, special courts and civil registries of the high court. Neymann Allocation sampling techniques was appropriate for this research because it ensured that every single registry staff in the target population had a chance (within their strata) of being included in the various Focus Groups (FGs) that were formed. In this study data was collected using document analysis and Focused Group Discussions (FGD). An FGD is a group of individuals with common interest who interact to gain information on matters under discussion. FGD was used to gather historical data that is both qualitative and quantitative from staff working in the three registries. Document analysis allowed researchers to critically examine relevant private or public recorded information to obtain un-obstructive information for the purpose of this study. Casual Loop Diagrams (CLD), Stock and Flow Diagrams (SFD), bar graphs and tables were used by the researchers in the presentation (graphical and visual) of data while data was analyzed using SPSS and thematic analysis. Thematic analysis was appropriate for this study because of the need to aggregate similar codes to form major concepts that helped in developing the model. Vensim and STELLA were used as model building tools in this study. Findings in this study show that the causes of delay in dispute resolution are case backlogs (pendency), time per disposal, frequent adjournments, human capacities, adversarial judicial system, corruption, the rate at which cases are disposed and the rate of registration of new cases. The study recommends improvement of SD model that was developed to consider the influence of adversarial system on the delays in legal dispute resolution with simulation runs tied to different conditions (type of case). The study also recommends increase of human capacities, use of ICTs, and development and implementation of court rules and procedures in order to reduce delays in disposal of legal disputes. | en_US |
