The Court of Appeal for Eastern Africa (EACA), was established in 1902. It was originally set up in 1950 by the 1902 Order-in-Council as a regional court.

This establishment was in response to the demand for institutions to help administer colonies. EACA is arguably one of the oldest shared resources among various East African countries and other British protectorates.

EACA was created amid the complex colonial and African traditional setting. There was a dual system of courts where one court was to administer the general law established by the colonial administration and the other, to settle disputes arising among members of the indigenous African population. Initially, the court’s jurisdiction was limited to the three East African territories but later, it was extended to other British colonies. Ultimately, it covered the colony and the protectorate of Tanganyika, the Uganda and Zanzibar protectorates, the colony of Aden, the colony of Seychelles and the Somaliland protectorate.

The court consisted of a president, vice president, one or more justices of appeal and the superior courts of the territories. They were appointed by the Queen of Great Britain and served at her pleasure. After the independence of most of these countries, the EACA became the highest court as far as determining appeals was concerned. At one time, it was the highest court in the land as well as a court where all appeals were filed and determined. For instance, appeals from the High Court ended in the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

Direct appeals to the Privy council in the UK were not allowed except through EACA where one had to first make his/her appeal. Although domiciled in Nairobi law courts building, the court was administered independently of the Judiciary of Kenya. The disintegration of the East African Community resulted in the establishment of the Court of Appeal of Kenya on October 28^th, 1977 as the highest court in Kenya after the Constitution of Kenya Amendment Act (1977).

From this time, the court was permanently stationed in Nairobi and operated as a circuit court when hearing appeals from its other sub-registries. The court was decentralized in 2012 to Mombasa, Nyeri and Kisumu. It had sub-registries in Nakuru, Eldoret and Malindi. The Court of Appeal boasts of a rich history that has seen it grow jurisprudence, shaping the legal-political as well as socioeconomic dynamics underpinning the East African region and beyond.