In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires—

"agent", when used in relation to the Government, includes an independent contractor employed by the Government;

"armed forces" means the military, naval and air forces of the Republic and includes any person who, although not a member of any of those forces, is serving under the control of any of those forces, and whether as a civilian or otherwise;

"civil proceedings" includes proceedings in the High Court or a subordinate court for the recovery of fines or penalties;

"officer", in relation to the Government, includes the President, the Deputy President, a Cabinet Secretary and any other servant of the Government;

"order" includes a judgment, decree, rule, award or declaration;

"prescribed" means prescribed by rules of court;

"proceedings against the Government" includes a claim by way of set- off or counterclaim raised in proceedings by the Government;

"statutory duty" means any duty imposed by or under any written law.

Any reference in this Act to the provisions of this Act shall, unless the context otherwise requires, include a reference to rules of court made for the purposes of this Act.

Any reference in Part IV or Part V of this Act to civil proceedings by or against the Government, or to civil proceedings to which the Government is a party, shall be construed to include a reference to civil proceedings to which the Attorney-General, or any Government department, or any officer of the Government as such, is a party:

Provided that the Government shall not, for the purposes of Part IV or Part V of this Act, be deemed to be a party to any proceedings by reason only that they are brought by the Attorney-General upon the relation of some other person.

Where the Government is bound by a statutory duty which is binding also upon persons other than the Government and its officers, then, subject to the provisions of this Act, the Government shall, in respect of a failure to comply with that duty, be subject to all those liabilities in tort (if any) to which it would be so subject if it were a private person of full age and capacity.

Where any functions are conferred or imposed upon an officer of the Government as such either by any rule of the common law or by any written law, and that officer commits a tort while performing or purporting to perform those functions, the liabilities of the Government in respect of the tort shall be such as they would have been if those functions had been conferred or imposed solely by virtue of instructions lawfully given by the Government.

Any written law which negatives or limits the amount of the liability of any Government department or officer of the Government in respect of any tort committed by that department or officer shall, in the case of proceedings against the Government under this section in respect of a tort committed by that department or officer, apply in relation to the Government as it would have applied in relation to that department or officer if the proceedings against the Government had been proceedings against that department or officer.

No proceedings shall lie against the Government by virtue of this section in respect of anything done or omitted to be done by any person while discharging or purporting to discharge any responsibilities of a judicial nature vested in him, or any responsibilities which he has in connection with the execution of judicial process.

No proceedings shall lie against the Government by virtue of this section in respect of any act, neglect or default of any officer of the Government, unless that officer has been directly or indirectly appointed by the Government and was at the material time paid in respect of his duties as an officer of the Government wholly out of the consolidated fund or was at the material time holding an office in respect of which the Cabinet Secretary for the time being responsible for Finance certifies that the holder thereof would normally be so paid.

Where, after the commencement of this Act, any servant or agent of the Government infringes a patent, or infringes a registered trade mark, or infringes any copyright (including any copyright in a design subsisting under the Registered Designs Act, 1949, (12,13, & 14 Geo. 6 c. 88.) of the United Kingdom) and the infringement is committed with the authority of the Government, then, subject to the provisions of this Act, civil proceedings in respect of the infringement shall lie against the Government.

Nothing in subsection (1) of this section or any other provision of this Act shall affect the rights of any Government department under section 46 of the Patents Act, 1949, (12, 13, 14 Geo. 6 c. 87.) or under section 12 of, and the First Schedule to, the Registered Designs Act, 1949, of the United Kingdom.

Save as expressly provided by this section, no proceedings shall lie against the Government by virtue of this Act in respect of the infringement of a patent, in respect of the infringement of a registered trade mark, or the infringement of any copyright as is mentioned in subsection (1).

Nothing in this Part shall extinguish or abridge any powers or authorities which, if this Act had not been passed, would have been exercisable by virtue of any prerogative, privilege, power or authority vested in the Government by any written law, and in particular nothing in this Part shall extinguish or abridge any powers or authorities exercisable by the Government, whether in time of peace or of war, for the purpose of the defence of Kenya or of training, or maintaining the efficiency of, any of the armed forces.

Where in any proceedings under this Act it is material to determine whether anything was properly done or omitted to be done in the exercise of any prerogative or privilege of the Government, the President may, if satisfied that the act or omission was necessary for any such purpose mentioned in subsection (1), issue a certificate to the effect that the act or omission was necessary for that purpose; and the certificate shall, in those proceedings, be conclusive as to the matters so certified.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, all civil proceedings by or against the Government mentioned in the First Schedule to this Act are hereby abolished, and all civil proceedings by or against the Government in the High Court shall be instituted and proceeded with in accordance with rules of court and not otherwise.

In this section, the expression "rules of court" means, in relation to any claim against the Government in the High Court which falls within the jurisdiction of that court as a prize court, rules of court made under section 3 of the Prize Courts Act, 1894 (57 & 58 Vict. c. 39.)

Subject to the provisions of this Act, and to any written law limiting the jurisdiction of a subordinate court (whether by reference to the subject matter of the proceedings to be brought or by the amount sought to be recovered in the proceedings or otherwise), any civil proceedings against the Government may be instituted in a subordinate court.

Any proceedings by or against the Government in a subordinate court shall be instituted and proceeded with in accordance with rules of court and not otherwise.

Subject to the provisions of any other written law, civil proceedings by or against the Government shall be instituted by or against the Office of the Attorney-General, as the case may be.

No proceedings instituted in accordance with this Part of this Act by or against the Office of the Attorney-General shall abate or be affected by any change in the person holding the Office of the Attorney-General.

No proceedings against the Government shall lie or be instituted until after the expiry of a period of thirty days after a notice in writing in the prescribed form have been served on the Government in relation to those proceedings.

The provisions of this section shall not apply to such part of any proceedings as relates to a claim for relief in respect of which the court may, by virtue of proviso (i) to section 16(1), make an order declaratory of the right of the parties in lieu of an injunction.

In any case in which civil proceedings against the Government in the High Court are instituted by the issue of a plaint out of a District Registry, the Government may enter an appearance either in the District Registry or in the Central Office of the High Court in Nairobi, and, if an appearance is entered in the Central Office, all steps in relation to the proceedings up to the trial shall be taken in Nairobi.

The trial of any civil proceedings by or against the Government in the High Court shall be held at the High Court in Nairobi unless the court, with the consent of the Government, otherwise directs.

Where the Government refuses its consent to a direction under subsection (2) of this section, the court may take account of the refusal in exercising its powers in regard to the award of costs.

If, in a case where proceedings are instituted against the Government in a subordinate court, an application in that behalf is made by the Government to the High Court, and there is produced to the court a certificate of the Attorney-General to the effect that the proceedings may involve an important question of law, or may be decisive of other cases arising out of the same matter, or are for other reasons more fit to be tried in the High Court, the proceedings shall be removed into the High Court.

Where any proceedings have been removed into the High Court on the production of a certificate as is mentioned in subsection (1) of this section, and it appears to the court by whom the proceedings are tried that the removal has occasioned additional expense to the person by whom the proceedings are brought, the court may take account of the additional expense so occasioned in exercising its power in regard to the award of costs.

Without prejudice to the rights of the Government under the preceding provisions of this section, the provisions of any written law relating to the removal or transfer of proceedings from a subordinate court to the High Court or the transfer of proceedings from the High Court to a subordinate court shall apply in relation to proceedings against the Government:

Provided that an order for the transfer to a subordinate court of any proceedings against the Government in the High Court shall not be made without the consent of the Government.

The court shall not in any civil proceedings grant any injunction or make any order against an officer of the Government if the effect of granting the injunction or making the order would be to give any relief against the Government which could not have been obtained in proceedings against the Government.

Section 26 of the Civil Procedure Act (Cap. 21), (which provides that a judgment debt shall carry interest) shall apply to judgment debts due from or to the Government.

The provisions of any written law empowering a court to award interest on costs shall apply to orders made in any proceedings by or against the Government.

The provisions of any written law empowering a court to award interest on debts and damages shall apply to orders made in any proceedings by or against the Government.

This section shall apply both in relation to proceedings pending at the commencement of this Act and in relation to proceedings instituted thereafter.

Where in any civil proceedings by or against the Government, or in proceedings in connection with any arbitration in which the Government is a party, any order (including an order for costs) is made by any court in favour of any person against the Government, or against a Government department, or against an officer of the Government as such, the proper officer of the court shall, on an application in that behalf made by or on behalf of that person at any time after the expiration of twenty-one days from the date of the order or, in case the order provides for the payment of costs and the costs require to be taxed, at any time after the costs have been taxed, whichever is the later, issue to that person a certificate in the prescribed form containing particulars of the order:

Provided that, if the court so directs, a separate certificate shall be issued with respect to the costs (if any) ordered to be paid to the applicant.

A copy of any certificate issued under this section may be served by the person in whose favour the order is made upon the Attorney-General.

If the order provides for the payment of any money by way of damages or otherwise, or of any costs, the certificate shall state the amount so payable, and the Accounting Officer for the Government department concerned shall, subject as hereinafter provided, pay to the person entitled or to his advocate the amount appearing by the certificate to be due to him together with interest, if any, lawfully due thereon:

Provided that the court by which any such order as aforesaid is made or any court to which an appeal against the order lies may direct that, pending an appeal or otherwise, payment of the whole of any amount so payable, or any part thereof, shall be suspended, and if the certificate has not been issued may order any such direction to be inserted therein.

Save as aforesaid, no execution or attachment or process in the nature thereof shall be issued out of any such court for enforcing payment by the Government of any such money or costs as aforesaid, and no person shall be individually liable under any order for the payment by the Government, or any Government department, or any officer of the Government as such, of any money or costs.

This section shall, with necessary modifications, apply to any civil proceedings by or against a county government, or in any proceedings in connection with any arbirtation in which a county government is a party.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, any order made in favour of the Government against any person in any civil proceedings to which the Government is a party may be enforced in the same manner as an order made in an action between subjects, and not otherwise.

Subsection (1) of this section shall apply both in relation to proceedings pending at the commencement of this Act and in relation to proceedings instituted thereafter.

Nothing in this section shall affect any procedure which immediately before the commencement of this Act was available for enforcing an order made in favour of the Government in proceedings brought by the Government for the recovery of any fine or penalty, or the forfeiture or condemnation of any goods, or the forfeiture of any ship or any share in a ship.

The provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall, so far as they relate to forms of relief falling within the jurisdiction of a subordinate court, have effect in relation to subordinate courts as they have effect in relation to the High Court.

Subject to and in accordance with rules of court, in any civil proceedings in the High Court or a subordinate court to which the Government is a party, the Government may be required by the court to make discovery of documents and produce documents for inspection or answer interrogatories:

Provided that this section shall be without prejudice to any rule of law which authorises or requires the withholding of any document or the refusal to answer any question on the ground that the disclosure of the document or the answering of the question would be injurious to the public interest.

Any order of the court made under the powers conferred by paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section shall direct by what officer of the Government the interrogatories are to be answered.

Without prejudice to the proviso to subsection (1) of this section, any rules of court made for the purposes of this section shall be such as to secure that the existence of a document will not be disclosed if, in the opinion of a Cabinet Secretary, it would be injurious to the public interest to disclose the existence thereof.

Nothing in this Act shall authorise proceedings in rem in respect of any claim against the Government, or the arrest, detention or sale of any Government ship or aircraft, or of any cargo or other property belonging to the Government, or give to any person any lien on any such ship, aircraft, cargo or other property.

Where proceedings in rem have been instituted in the High Court or in a subordinate court against any such ship, aircraft, cargo or other property, the court may, if satisfied, either on an application by the plaintiff for an order under this subsection or an application by the Government to set aside the proceedings, that the proceedings were so instituted by the plaintiff in the reasonable belief that the ship, aircraft, cargo or other property did not belong to the Government, order that the proceedings shall be treated as if they were in personam duly instituted against the Government in accordance with the provisions of this Act, or duly instituted against any other person whom the court regards as the proper person to be sued in the circumstances, and that the proceedings shall continue accordingly.

Any order made in accordance with the provisions of subsection (2) may be upon such terms, if any, as the court thinks just; and, where the court makes any such order, it may make such consequential orders as it thinks expedient.

Any power to make rules of court to provide for any matters relating to the procedure of civil courts shall include power to make rules of court for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of this Act, and any such rules may contain provisions to have effect in relation to any proceedings by or against the Government in substitution for or by way of addition to any of the provisions of the rules applying to proceedings between subjects.

Provision may be made by rules of court for regulating any appeals to the High Court, whether by way of case stated or otherwise, under any written law relating to the revenue, and any rules made under this sub-section may revoke any written law or rules in force immediately before the commencement of this Act so far as they regulate any such appeals, and may make provision for any matters for which provision was made by any written law or rules so in force.

Any expenditure incurred by or on behalf of the Government by reason of this Act shall be defrayed out of moneys provided by Parliament.

Except in so far as Parliament may otherwise authorise, any sum payable to the Government by reason of this Act shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.

Where any property vests in the Government by virtue of any rule of law which operates independently of the acts or the intentions of the Government, the Government shall not by virtue of this Act be subject to any liabilities in tort by reason only of the property being so vested; but the provisions of this subsection shall be without prejudice to the liabilities of the Government under this Act in respect of any period after the Government or any person acting for the Government has in fact taken possession or control of any such property, or entered into occupation thereof.

This Act shall not operate to limit the discretion of the court to grant relief by way of mandamus in cases in which that relief might have been granted before the commencement of this Act, notwithstanding that by reason of the provisions of this Act some other and further remedy is available.