06 May 2014

Botswana yearns to host the Dispute Resolution Centre (DRC), which could be used regionally and internationally, provided it receives support from other countries.

Presenting a paper during a side event at the Commonwealth Law Ministers meeting in Gaborone, the acting Attorney General, Mr Keborapele Moesi, said though there was still some legal issues to be resolved, Botswana was an ideal place to host such a court of law.

Mr Moesi, who also briefed Commonwealth Ministers of Justice and Attorneys Generals, on the introduction of legal aid and how it was provided to deserving Batswana, said Gaborone had all the attributes to house such an institution of greater jurisprudence.

He noted that Botswana was ready to host such a cost-effective and efficient DRC and this, he said, would require functional and easily accessible court buildings that were underutilised, adequate legal library, both physical and electronic, for the use of legal practitioners and adjudicators.

In addition, Mr Moesi said Botswana was accessible by air at affordable rates and also the road and telecommunication infrastructure was of unquestionable standard, which he said were some of the key elements in attracting foreign direct business in Botswana.

“In addition to that the country has competent administrative and clerical support fluent in English, which is an international language spoken in many jurisdictions around the world,” he said. “Accommodation is also provided at affordable rates for visiting legal practitioners and witnesses.”

The administrative and capital city also has adequate IT/internet facilities and support while the country has moderate climate relatively free from snow, earthquakes, floods and other natural hazards.

He reiterated that Gaborone had all the main requirements and potential to host DRC which would ultimately bring legal business and become source of business, revenue and employment to Botswana.

The centre would also be accessible to local entrepreneurs and make enforcement of contracts easier and quicker in line with Doing Business Reform Roadmap. He regretted that there were three main complaints that were heard from business people and other parties concerning procedure of both courts and arbitration as dispute resolution mechanism.

The complaints are delays; that some judges lack case management; and costs of litigation, some of which are so unscrupulous as to impose disadvantageous settlements. Another complaint is lack of expertise as some judges may lack expertise to adjudicate disputes.

Mr Moesi said although each country had its own laws, the reality of globalisation was emerging convergence towards globally acceptable commercial law. For instance, differences between English speaking common law jurisdictions and Southern African Roman Dutch common law in respect of business/commercial law was limited.

He explained that in terms of substantive law in the 21st century global village, there was increasing tendency for states to use each other’s statutes as precedents in modernising laws. International tendency towards similar commercial legal systems makes it easier to do business internationally. States that failed to modernise, he warned, risk falling behind in development.

Nevertheless, Mr Moesi said Botswana’s Doing Business Reform Roadmap was an ideal opportunity to modernise commercial law to comply with international best practices. If achieved, the Botswana laws would become jurisdiction of choice in international contracts, and would thus attract legal business to the DRC in Gaborone and foreign investors to Botswana. ENDS