AISTAR 2026 provides three constitutionally-grounded pathways for succession and estate dispute resolution — from a 60-day consensual settlement track to full adjudication. This page is your professional guide to referring clients, joining the Roster, and engaging the framework.
AISTAR is not a competitor to advocates — it is a specialist institutional framework that resolves the matters that probate courts handle slowly, expensively, and with uncertain timelines. For practitioners, it is a referral pathway and a professional engagement opportunity.
Every AISTAR pathway — adjudication, arbitration, and the Structured Settlement Track — is grounded in Articles 1(3)(c), 47, and 50(1) of the Constitution and operationalised through the Fair Administrative Action Act, 2015. Determinations and Certificates of Settlement are administrative actions subject to the full suite of FAA Act protections. This is not informal ADR — it is constitutionally authorised dispute resolution.
The Structured Settlement Track targets operative finality within 60 days. The Adjudication Highway produces a Determination within 42 days of close of proceedings, with a maximum post-determination exposure of 132 days to absolute finality. These are institutional guarantees — not aspirations — enforceable against Tribunal members through the quality assurance retention mechanism.
Banks, land registries, company registrars, and insurance companies are joined as Institutional Interested Parties before the Determination or Certificate of Settlement is issued. They receive pre-decision notice under FAA Act section 4(3)(a) and are bound by the outcome. This eliminates the secondary enforcement problem that afflicts most ADR outcomes.
AISTAR proceedings afford clients constitutional rights under Article 47 — including pre-decision notice and the right to make representations — that are not available in ordinary litigation. The mandatory pre-decision notice obligation under FAA Act sections 4(3)(a) and (b) applies to every Determination and Award. This procedural standard is materially higher than in ordinary court proceedings.
Every certified Determination and Certificate of Settlement carries a Sovereign Hash — a SHA-256 digital fingerprint that allows any registry, financial institution, or court to verify the authenticity of the instrument in real time. Practitioners can direct their clients and opposing registries to the AISTAR verification channel for instant confirmation.
Every party in AISTAR proceedings has the right to be represented by an advocate or other representative of their choice, expressly preserved under FAA Act section 4(3)(e) and Rule 20(6). Advocates may act for clients in all three pathways. The AISTAR Scale of Costs, aligned with the Advocates (Remuneration) Order, governs representative fees.
The referral pathway depends on the nature of your client's matter. Three questions determine which AISTAR pathway is appropriate. Is the family in agreement? Is there a written arbitration agreement? Is the dispute contested?
Where all primary parties — beneficiaries, dependants, and any executors — have reached or substantially reached agreement, the Structured Settlement Track is the appropriate pathway. Your client files a joint Settlement Application (Form B44) with all primary parties. The Institution appoints a Facilitator who verifies legal compliance against the full Article 159(3) standard. A Certificate of Settlement is issued within the 60-day target timeline, operative immediately upon issue, with institutional transmissions proceeding without any court application. This is the fastest, lowest-cost pathway for agreed estates.
Where the estate is disputed and there is no prior arbitration agreement, the Adjudication Highway is the appropriate pathway. Your client files a Petition for Adjudicative Settlement (Form B1). The Institution appoints a Tribunal from the Roster within 14 days. Proceedings include mandatory asset disclosure, case management, hearings, and a written Determination within 42 days of close of proceedings. The Adjudication Highway does not require the consent of opposing parties — jurisdiction derives from Articles 1(3)(c) and 50(1) of the Constitution.
Where there is a valid arbitration agreement — testamentary, in a trust deed, a submission agreement, or an institutional election — the Arbitration Highway applies. Your client files a Request for Arbitration (Form B2). The arbitration is conducted under Part V of the Rules in conjunction with the Arbitration Act, 1995. An Award is final and binding subject to the Arbitration Act's provisions, with a default ripening period of three months, acceleratable to 42 days by joint Waiver (Form B36).
Where an estate has no lawful personal representation and no pending proceedings, AISTAR may be invoked to activate it under Part VII. Proceedings may be initiated to identify beneficiaries, secure estate assets, and facilitate distribution. A trust corporation qualifying under section 3 of the Law of Succession Act has standing to invoke the Adjudication Highway on behalf of a dormant estate. The SST is also available where the beneficiaries of an activated dormant estate are in agreement.
The SST is the most significant addition to AISTAR's architecture since the constitutional foundation provisions. For practitioners in estate planning and probate, it addresses the most common client situation: the family that has agreed, but does not know there is a constitutionally-grounded pathway that does not require probate.
The SST is a recording and verification service, not an adjudicative process. The Facilitator is an appointed Roster member who acts in a constitutive and administrative capacity — verifying legal compliance, not determining contested rights. The settlement agreement between the primary parties is a consensual instrument. The Certificate of Settlement issued by the Registry upon the Facilitator's verification is administrative action under Article 47 and the FAA Act, carrying the full suite of FAA Act protections.
The Facilitator applies the full Article 159(3) standard using the structured TPD 08/2026 Compliance Checklist. The checklist covers ten categories — from Law of Succession Act dependants' rights to Children Act trustee requirements to Insolvency Act creditor priority. Facilitators with CPM-level mediation qualification are preferred for SST appointments, in light of the Civil Procedure Act section 59D qualified mediator requirement for court adoption of settlement agreements.
The Certificate of Settlement is operative immediately upon issue. The primary enforcement mechanism is the Institutional Interested Party architecture: institutions served under Rule 63 and not challenging the Certificate are bound to give immediate effect to the institutional transmission instructions. Where an institution fails to comply without lawful justification, three enforcement layers are available.
The SST converts automatically to the Adjudication Highway where a primary party withdraws consent, where an unresolved objection is filed by an unknown beneficiary or creditor, or where the Facilitator issues a Referral Notice. On conversion, all preparatory work is preserved, the SST filing fee is credited against the Adjudication Highway fee, and the Facilitator is offered continued appointment as Tribunal member. Any party may object to continuity on bias grounds within seven days. The seamless conversion mechanism means there is no cost to starting on the SST — if agreement breaks down, the matter migrates without loss of work.
The AISTAR Roster is the official register of adjudicators, arbitrators, Facilitators, and specialist assessors eligible for appointment under these Rules. Roster admission confers eligibility — appointment to a specific matter vests constitutional adjudicative authority for that matter.
Eligible for appointment as sole adjudicators, panel members, arbitrators, and Facilitators in SST proceedings regardless of estate value. Estates up to KES 20 million.
All Tier A appointments plus eligibility for Supervisory Review Tribunal (SRT) appointments and Revocation Tribunal appointments. High-value matters above KES 20 million.
Technical experts appointed to assist Tribunals on specialist matters. Assessors do not exercise adjudicative authority.
To file an AISTAR matter on behalf of a client, or to enquire about Roster admission, contact the Institution through the channels below. For urgent preservation matters, contact the Principal directly.