RM (a minor, through next friend JK) v. Attorney-General

Abstract

Relationship of international law and municipal law — Treaties — Ratification without reservation of international instrument — Incorporation in domestic legislation — Whether States obliged to mirror provisions of international instruments in domestic legislation — Margin of appreciation — Constitution of Kenya — Conflict between international law and domestic law — Bangalore Principles, 1989 — Supremacy of Constitution where clear and unambiguous — Inability of court to expand provisions of Constitution where clear and unambiguous

Human rights — Discrimination — Grounds for non-discrimination in international and domestic law — Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989 — African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, 1990 — Constitution of Kenya — Children Act 2001 of Kenya, Section 24(3) — Parental responsibility — Whether part of jus cogens — Parental responsibility for children born out of wedlock — Whether non-discrimination provisions under the Constitution and the Children Act 2001 of Kenya inconsistent — Whether non-discrimination provisions under Constitution and international obligations inconsistent — Whether vesting parental responsibility in mother in first instance discriminatory — Principle of equality and non-discrimination — Margin of appreciation — Whether distinction for legitimate purpose — Whether distinction reasonable in light of legitimate aim — The law of Kenya