Civil Procedure Law: Interloctutory Judgement in Kenya

Interlocutory is a legal term which can refer to an order,sentence,decree, orjudgment, given in an intermediate stage between the commencement and termination of acause of action, used to provide a temporary or provisional decision on an issue. Thus, an interlocutory order is not final and is not subject to immediate appeal.

An interlocutory decree, judgment, order or sentence can be found in all areas of law and litigation, including civil, family and employment law.It refers to when a temporary ruling is granted by the judge, which either prohibits or allows for a specific action, while the case is in process and until thecourt has reached a decision. It is made at the outset of a trial and relates to the heart of the case.

There are several reasons why an interlocutory judgment could be used. Some examples include:
*.When one side of a court case believes that the other side is withholding information that is essential to the case and that is required to be produced for the caseto be furthered on actual grounds.
*.If a case is taken for the purpose of stopping a particular action from taking place, one which may have already commenced, the plaintiff requests an interlocutory decree to stop the action until the full facts of the case are heard or until the judge rules on the matter.
*.When the defendant of an action does not feel that enough information has been provided in thecourt order being held against them and, due to this discrepancy, seeks further clarification of the issue before the case proceeds.

Cases must have started, but not finished, for an interlocutory judgment to be used. It is considered the back-and-forth interactions between both sides while coming to a final decision. It could change or have a lasting effect on the subject matter being decided.

When such an order is requested, a lapse in the court action persists until the further information is provided and assessed. Then, the case resumes fromwhere it left off.

At the end of a case, when the final judgment is ruled upon, any interlocutory decrees would be finished by default, as the final order would supersede any decree that took place before it.Interlocutory orders are notoriously difficult to receive from a judge.