Kenya Launches 'virtual' Courts

Kenya has launched 'virtual' Courts in a move that could have a huge impact on Intellectual property disputes.

According to the Daily Nation newspaper, the Kenyan Judiciary launched the project with technical support from Cisco Systems. In order to use this system, the parties must consent to using this forum. This system would have a great impact if parties outside the High Court's jurisdiction, particularly witnesses were allowed to use it. Currently, many cases get delayed due to the fact that it is not always possible to secure the presence of key witnesses in Court. Could this also be a new dawn for cross border litigation, and trademark enforcement in particular?

Hopefully, other commercial courts in the region and Africa as a whole will study this system and adopt it.