The Judiciary in a disgrace state - LSB

The Law Society of Botswana (LSB) has labelled the current state of the judiciary as a disgrace and lamentable, and that the year 2023 marred it with unacceptable situations, which to date the AoJ has not addressed.

It says in the first quarter of 2023, the Council met with the Chief Justice, former Chief Registrar, and a few judges of the High Court with a view to discussing issues of mutual interest and re-establish a relationship.

The council stated that all parties were alive to the fact that they bear an obligation to serve the public, to protect the rule of law and to uphold the moral fibre of the profession, including the Bench.

According to the council, the parties agreed to an open-door policy and scheduled quarterly meetings where they would engage on the pressing and daily issues that arise in the judiciary and practice of law.

“The engagement was held in a spirit of goodwill and collegiality with the Chief Justice himself expressing his desire to turn the page and forge a new path in collaboration with the Society.

“Alas, the quarterly meetings did not take place as scheduled because of cancellations or postponements by the AoJ. The 3rd Quarter meeting did not take place because the Registrar was out of the country and the last meeting, which ought to have been held in December 2023, did not take place because of unavailability of the Chief Justice.

“None of the sub-committees that were agreed to be established or the interventions that were agreed to be put in place were done,” the council said in its notice to boycott the 2024 Legal Year scheduled to be opened next week.

The council stated that the image of the judiciary, and the public confidence in this arm of the State are at an all- time low with applications by judges being filed against the CJ, allegations of judges receiving bribes from parties and some judges writing judgments for others.

“It is a truly deplorable situation, and we believe it is time for the Law Society to take strong steps to express our displeasure with the status quo of the AoJ for the good of the institution and the public that it serves,” the LSB said.

According to the LSB, the AoJ's indifference on these matters and its failure to seize the moment and take advantage of the goodwill which was expressed at the beginning of 2023 shows that it has no intention of protecting the rule of law and ensuring that the justice system remains honourable, reliable and trustworthy. It is, in fact, a broken promise.

The Notice further reads “the issues raised are not new and form part of a litany of grievances and complaints you, as the membership, have raised at various fora, including AGMs.

“It is on this basis that the Council of the Law Society places this motion before its members that, the profession should not attend this year's Opening of the Legal Year to show that as a membership we are appalled at the state of the AoJ and the judiciary and the seeming disregard about the effects this is having on us as practitioners, our clients and the general public.”

A total of 264 members of the LSB cast their votes and 239 members voted in favour of boycotting, with 14 voting against the motion whilst 11 abstained.

A proposed event for the membership has been sought and supported to be held at the Secretariat on the 6th February 2024, where the Chairman will deliver his speech and the members can map a way forward on these issues.