A constitutionally-grounded institutional framework for the resolution of succession and estate disputes in Kenya — operating under Article 1(3)(c)(ii) of the Constitution, the Fair Administrative Action Act, 2015, and the Arbitration Act, 1995.
AISTAR derives its adjudicative authority directly from the Constitution of Kenya — not from statute, not from court delegation, and not from private agreement alone. Four constitutional provisions form the foundational architecture.
Sovereign power belongs to the people and is delegated to independent tribunals alongside the Judiciary and the Executive. An AISTAR Tribunal is an independent tribunal within the meaning of this provision — its authority derives from the same sovereign source as judicial power itself.
Every person has the right to administrative action that is lawful, reasonable, and procedurally fair. All AISTAR proceedings are administrative actions within the meaning of Article 47, and every Determination issued under AISTAR constitutes fair administrative action subject to the requirements of the Fair Administrative Action Act, 2015.
Every person has the right to have any dispute resolved by the application of law in a fair and public hearing before a court or another independent and impartial tribunal or body. Article 50(1) constitutionally validates the existence and jurisdiction of AISTAR as an adjudicative body. Proceedings are conducted publicly unless restricted under Article 50(8).
The Law of Succession Act governs all succession in Kenya. Section 45(1) authorises estate administration by any person authorised by other written law — the Constitution and FAA Act constituting such other written law. A personal representative appointed by a certified AISTAR Determination requires no court-issued grant of representation. The Act's substantive succession law governs all AISTAR proceedings.
AISTAR provides two constitutionally-grounded pathways for succession dispute resolution, together ensuring that no matter is beyond the framework's reach on the ground that one party refuses to participate.
Where all parties agree to submit their dispute to resolution under AISTAR, arbitration proceedings are conducted under Part V of the Rules pursuant to a valid arbitration agreement. The arbitration is governed by the Arbitration Act, 1995. An Award issued under Part V is final and binding subject to the Arbitration Act's provisions.
An arbitration agreement may be testamentary, contained in a trust deed, a submission agreement, or an institutional election by parties in pending adjudication proceedings.
Where consent is absent or withheld by one or more parties, adjudication proceedings are conducted under Part IV of the Rules pursuant to the constitutional and statutory delegation of adjudicative authority. Jurisdiction does not depend on private consent — it derives from Article 1(3)(c) and Article 50(1) of the Constitution.
Every affected party receives pre-decision notice and the right to make representations. Non-participation does not block the proceedings or the Determination.
The AISTAR institutional framework comprises the consolidated rules, a suite of standard forms, schedules, and transitional practice directions. All documents are available for download below.
The complete rules — 61 rules, 11 schedules, constitutional foundation, procedural framework, enforcement architecture, and amendment log. Incorporates all FAAA compliance, constitutional stress test, LSA statutory integration, and enforcement architecture amendments.
Download Rules ↓The complete suite of 42 standard forms supporting proceedings under the Rules — from Petition for Adjudicative Settlement (B1) through to the Application for Expeditious Administrator Revocation (B42). Full templates maintained in the AISTAR Case Documentation System.
Full forms suite — forthcoming in ACDSThe official electronic publication platform for institutional notices, procedural announcements, amendments to the Rules, and selected adjudicative instruments. Publication in the Digital Gazette constitutes institutional notice for the purposes of AISTAR proceedings.
Digital Gazette — launching shortlyThe foundational practitioner text on arbitration in Kenya's constitutional framework — available free of charge to all practitioners and institutions engaging with AISTAR proceedings.
Download Free ↓The specialist practitioner text on succession arbitration — covering jurisdiction, procedure, and enforcement of succession arbitral awards under the constitutional and statutory framework.
Acquire Copy →The comprehensive treatment of succession dispute resolution beyond probate — the most thorough practitioner and family guide to inheritance justice in the Kenyan constitutional context.
Acquire Copy →The Fifth Edition consolidates eight Parts, eleven Schedules, and sixty-one Rules across four revision rounds. The structure below provides a navigational overview of the complete instrument.
Foundation, interpretation, purpose, constitutional status, jurisdiction, forum choice
Administration, Roster, admission, oath, appointment, quality assurance, digital framework
Petition, verification, preservation orders, notification, joinder, institutional interested parties
Case management, disclosure, hearings, evidence, determination, certification, revocation proceedings
Agreement, notification, constitution, jurisdiction, hearings, award, enforcement cross-reference
Slip rule, internal review, grounds for review, SRT powers, finality, constitutional supervision
Dormant estates, trust corporations, institutional capacity, non-substitution
Fees, Digital Gazette, open proceedings, liability, transitional provisions, amendments, severability
AISTAR's enforcement architecture is its most significant structural innovation. By joining compliance-required institutions as Institutional Interested Parties from the outset of proceedings, AISTAR binds those institutions before the Determination is issued — making court enforcement proceedings the exception rather than the rule.
All banks, land registries, company registrars, insurance companies, and other compliance-required institutions are joined as Institutional Interested Parties before the Determination is issued. They receive pre-decision notice under section 4(3)(a) FAA Act and are bound by the outcome of the constitutional proceeding. Upon certification, the Sovereign Hash serves as the verification instrument for institutional compliance. No court proceedings required.
Where Tier 1 compliance is resisted, enforcement may be sought under Rule 37 of the Fair Administrative Action Rules, 2024, invoking the jurisdiction of the High Court under CPR Order 22. Available for both adjudications and arbitrations. Tiers 2 and 3 are alternative, not sequential — both invoke High Court jurisdiction as last resort.
Where the proceeding is an arbitration and the FAA Act route is not the most appropriate vehicle, enforcement may be sought under section 36 of the Arbitration Act by application to the High Court. Available specifically for arbitral Awards under Part V. At the enforcement stage under Tiers 2 or 3, the merits of the underlying Determination are not re-examined.
Once an AISTAR Determination is issued, the post-determination process operates on a defined and bounded timeline — categorically different from the indeterminate court enforcement queue.
AISTAR — the Aluochier Independent Succession Tribunals Administrative Rules — is the institutional framework for succession dispute resolution established by Aluochier Dispute Resolution. It is grounded in the constitutional architecture of Articles 1(3)(c), 47, and 50(1) of the Constitution of Kenya, operationalised through the Fair Administrative Action Act, 2015, and integrated with the Law of Succession Act and the Arbitration Act, 1995.
The framework was developed over multiple revision cycles — incorporating FAAA compliance amendments, constitutional stress testing against Article 2(2), LSA statutory integration, and the enforcement architecture integration now reflected in the Fifth Edition. It represents the most constitutionally rigorous succession dispute resolution framework in Kenya's alternative dispute resolution landscape.
AISTAR is an institutional instrument of Aluochier Dispute Resolution — a registered business name of Serveyah Limited, based in Rongo, Kenya. The Founder and Principal Arbitrator is Isaac Aluochier S.Arb, S.Adj, FCIArb, CPM, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and appointee of the Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration.
AISTAR operates alongside — not in substitution of — the court-based probate process. Both pathways are parallel and co-equal. The Law of Succession Act's substantive succession law governs all AISTAR proceedings.
To invoke AISTAR proceedings, file a Petition for Adjudicative Settlement (Form B1) or a Request for Arbitration (Form B2) through the intake form below. For professional enquiries, speak to the Principal directly.