Dr. Francis Kariuki is a Senior Lecturer and Director of the Graduate Programs, LLM and LLD at Strathmore University Law School. He holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) and a Master of Laws degree (LL.M) from the University of Nairobi, and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. He is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and is a Fellow and Chartered Arbitrator with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK) and is listed with several arbitral institutions. 

He is also an accredited mediator by the Mediation Accreditation Committee (MAC) under the Kenyan Judiciary; facilit8; Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration (NCIA); and the Strathmore Dispute Resolution Centre (SDRC) and is accredited. He has also been involved in several mediations and negotiations. He has been an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) trainer with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, SDRC, NCIA and several other organisations.

His publications and research interests touch on property and land, environmental governance, alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and customary governance systems. He has been involved in consultancies touching on property and land negotiations against multinationals and local companies; traditional knowledge governance; development of grievance management frameworks in the public and private sectors, among others.

LIST OF PUBLICATIONS

  • Francis Kariuki, Handling extractives related grievances in Kenya: A guide for judicial officers (Extractives Baraza, 2019).
  • Francis Kariuki et al, Property Law (Strathmore University Press, 2016).
  • Kariuki Muigua, Didi Wamukoya & Francis Kariuki, Natural Resources and Environmental Justice in Kenya, (Glenwood Publishers, 2015).
  • Francis Kariuki, Securing Community Land Rights in Community Forests in Kenya, (LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing, 2015), available at https://www.lap-publishing.com/.
  • “Traditional governance institutions and the holistic protection of traditional knowledge” in  Laura Pineschi Cultural Heritage, Sustainable Development and Human Rights, Taylor &  Francis, 2023, Chapter 14. 
  • 'Harnessing Traditional Knowledge Holders' Institutions in Realising Sustainable Development Goals in Kenya', Intellectual Property, 2022 {IntechOpen}, doi:10.5772/intechopen.98802. 
  • “The Politicisation of Land Law Reforms in Kenya in The Post-2010 Era” in Jill Cottrell  Ghai, Yash Pal Ghai and Emily Kinama Katiba 2010-Achievements and challenges, 2019. 4. “Class Action Arbitrations: Is it the Future of Arbitration in Consumer Disputes in Kenya?”  in Rowan Planterose & John Tackaberry QC (eds.) A Brand New World: The Evolution  and Future of Arbitration, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, 2019. 
  • ‘Traditional dispute resolution mechanisms in the administration of justice in Kenya’ in ES.  Nwauche (ed.) Citizenship and Customary Law in Africa, Centre for African Legal Studies,  2020, pp. 33-68. 
  • ‘Land rights issues in Kenya’s extractives sector’ in J. Ambani (ed.), Drilling Past the  Resource Curse? Essays on the governance of extractives in Kenya, Strathmore Press,  2018, pp. 139-168. 
  • “Environmental Challenges in Informal Settlements: Case study of Mukuru Slums in  8. Nairobi” in Vasilka Sancin and Masa Kovic Dine (eds.), International Environmental Law:  Greening the Urban Living, 2016, pp.39-54.  
  • Patricia Kameri-Mbote & Francis Kariuki, “Human Rights, Gender and Water in Kenya:  Law, Prospects and Challenges,” in A. Hellum et al, (eds), Water is Life: Women’s human  rights in national and local water governance in Southern and Eastern Africa, Weaver  Press, Harare, 2015, pp.81-117. 
  • Andrew Ngurumi & Francis Kariuki, “A Postcolonial Critique of African Cultural Heritage Laws Using Notions of Communitarianism and Relationality under the Concept of African Renaissance” International Journal of Cultural Property (2025), 1-14, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S094073912500013X 
  • Francis Kariuki & Enyinna S. Nwauche “Reflections on the “Autonomous Alternative Justice System Institutions” in Kenya’s Alternative Justice Systems Policy Frameworks Law in Africa, Vol.1(2023), 68-81.
  • Francis Kariuki & Vianney Sebayiga “Arbitrability of Fraud in Kenya” NCIA Alternative Dispute Resolution Journal Vol. 2(2022), ISBN No. 978-9914-40-777-8.
  • Francis Kariuki & Vianney Sebayiga “Evaluating the Role of ADR Mechanisms in Resolving Climate Change Disputes” Alternative Dispute Resolution Journal Vol.10(3)  (2022). 
  • ‘Protecting traditional knowledge in Kenya: Traditional justice systems as appropriate sui  generis systems’ WIPO-WTO Colloquium Papers (2019) 91-105.  
  • “Harnessing traditional knowledge holders’ institutions in realising sustainable  development goals in Kenya” (forthcoming, Open AIR Working Paper Series). 7. “Notion of ‘Ownership’ in IP: Protection of Traditional Ecological Knowledge vis-a-vis  Protection of T K and Cultural Expressions Act, 2016 of Kenya” Journal of Intellectual  Property Rights, Vol.24 (2) (2019), 89-102. 
  • “Ideological conundrums and technical challenges in protecting traditional knowledge  using the intellectual property system” Journal of conflict management and sustainable  development 3 (2) (2019), 15-32. 
  • “Development and Practice of Alternative Dispute Resolution in Kenya,” in the Dutch Flemish Mediation and Conflict Management Journal, Vol. 4 (2014). 
  • “Alternative Dispute Resolution, Access to Justice and Development in Kenya” Strathmore  Law Journal (2015), pp. 1-21.  
  • “Conflict Resolution by Elders in Africa: Successes, Challenges and Opportunities,”  Alternative Dispute Resolution Journal Vol.3 Issue 2 (2015), pp. 30-53.  
  • “Safeguarding Environmental Rights in Kenya,” Kenya Law Review, Vol. IV (2012-2013).  13. Kariuki Muigua & Kariuki Francis “Towards Environmental Justice in Kenya” Journal of  Conflict Management and Sustainable Development, 2017. 
  • “Land Grabbing, Tenure Security and Livelihoods in Kenya” African Journal of Legal  Studies Vol. 9 (2016), pp. 79-99.
  • “Sustainable Development and Equity in the Kenyan Context,” University of Nairobi,  Commercial Law Journal Vol. 7 Issue 1(2012), pp.26-38. Also available at  http://kenyalaw.org/kl/index.php?id=1906.  
  • “Applicability of Traditional Dispute Resolution Mechanisms in Criminal Cases in Kenya:  Case Study of Republic v Mohamed Abdow Mohamed [2013] eKLR,” Alternative Dispute  Resolution Journal Vol.2 Issue 1 (2014), pp. 202-228.  
  • “Sustainability in the Financial Sector in Kenya,” published by the Kenya Bankers  Association (KBA) Center for Research on Financial Markets and Policy, KBA Working  Paper Series, WPS/11/15.  
  • “Customary Law Jurisprudence from Kenyan Courts: Implications for Traditional Justice  Systems,” University of Nairobi Law Journal, Vol. 8 Issue 1 (2015), pp.58-72.  
  • 1. ‘Sustaining Indigenous and Local Cultures’ paper presentation at the Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research Institute (QMIPRI) annual conference held on 14th 15th September 2023 at Senate House, University of London.
  •  ‘The Role of the Advocates Complaints Commission (ACC) in Resolving Land-related Complaints Against Advocates through ADR’ lecture during the ACC Commissioners induction at Lake Naivasha Resort on 25th July 2023.
  •  ‘The role of traditional dispute resolution mechanisms in enhancing access to justice in Kenya’ public lecture at Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Faculty of Law on 17th April 2023.
  •  "The role of traditional justice systems as appropriate sui generis frameworks for the protection of traditional ecological knowledge in Kenya’ paper presented at a conference on Engendering Access to Justice for Development in Sub Saharan Africa at the University of Western Cape on 28th to 29th October 2019.
  • ‘Protecting traditional knowledge in Kenya: Traditional governance structures as appropriate sui generis systems’ paper presented at the WIPO-WTO colloquium for teachers of IP in Geneva on 26th June 2019.
  • ‘Ownership of traditional knowledge: A challenge in the protection and promotion of traditional knowledge in Kenya’ paper presented at a Conference on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology on 13-14 July 2017.
  • “Challenges facing the recognition and enforcement of international arbitral awards within the East African Community,” paper presented at the Commercial Private International Law in East and Southern Africa conference on 14-15th September 2015 at the Research Center for Private International Law in Emerging Countries, Faculty of Law, University of Johannesburg.
  • “The Role of Elders in Resolving Conflicts in Kenya,” paper presented at the CIArb Africa Region Centenary Conference on 15th -17th July 2015 at the Victoria Falls Convention Centre in Livingstone, Zambia.
  • “Sustainability in the Banking Industry in Kenya,” A paper presented at the 3rd Kenya Bankers Association Annual Banking Research Conference held on 25th -26th September 2014 at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi.
  • “Redefining ‘Arbitrability’: Assessment of Articles 159 & 189 (4) of the Constitution of Kenya,” Paper delivered at the Regional Arbitration Conference held on 25th -26th July 2013, at the Southern Sun, Mayfair, Nairobi.
  •  “Gender Implications of Changing and Co-existing Water Laws and Governance Structures in Kenya,” Presented at an international conference on Gender, Human Rights and Water Governance in Southern and Eastern Africa: Actors, Norms and Institutions on 25th-26th September 2013 in Gauteng, South Africa.