Armed with a full complement of 42 Judges serving at both Court of Appeal and High Courts, Botswana is now ready to roll out its first Commercial Court.
Chief Justice Gaolapelwe Ketlogetswe announced recently at the opening of the legal year.
The maiden Commercial Court is expected to be operational in March this year. This specialised Court is envisaged to deal exclusively with commercial cases, and to facilitate government’s agenda of promoting ease of doing business in Botswana in order to attract credible investors both domestic and foreign.
“The recent appointments will put us in a good space in terms of our long-held desire to establish a specialized Commercial Court. We also believe that specialization in commercial cases will not only lead to speedy disposal of cases, but also that it will lead to quality of justice delivery and development of quality jurisprudence in that area of law,” highlighted Chief Justice.
“The Commercial court will leverage on technology and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and principles. In particular, Court supported mediation, court annexed mediation to expedite dispute resolution in a less expensive way,” emphasised Ketlogetswe.
He further pointed out the judicial appointments made last year, are indicative of Administration of Justice rapid response to the nation’s outcry over delayed delivery of justice services.
“It is our belief with specialization this will strengthen the quality of judicial decisions; over and above enhance our ability to deliver judicial services as expeditiously as desired by our people,” continued Ketlogetswe.
In an effort to take justice to the people, the Administration of Justice (AoJ) established a High Court in Mahalapye, which became operational last year November. And to tackle the backlog of cases facing Botswana Courts, specialised criminal courts were established in the North and South High Court Divisions with a total of nine Judges assigned to these criminal courts.
“Criminal cases especially those involving capital offences take a long time to complete. This is undesirable state of affairs as it compromises the rights of the accused persons to be tried within reasonable time and further disadvantages or traumatizes those affected by these crimes,” said Ketlogetswe.
Still on judicial appointments, another highlight Chief Justice pointed out is the deliberate position taken by the judiciary to increase the number of women Judges in the country’s High Courts. He said of the eight judges recently appointed, four of them are women.
“We wish to state here and now that this trend will continue even with respect to appointments to the Court of Appeal and other Courts that may be established in the course of time,” promised the Chief Justice.
Still in the spirit of elevating female Judges, Chief Justice Ketlogetswe announced that Justice Jennifer Dube will take up the position of Judge President at Maun High Court. Judge Dube becomes the first female Judge in Botswana to hold the position of Judge President.
