20 Nov 2019

For the Administration of Justice to achieve world class status by 2036, judicial officers must be accorded the requisite training, Chief Justice Terrence Rannowane has said.

Mr Rannowane said training was necessary to enable judicial officers to dispense justice and conduct themselves in a manner befitting the status of their office.

He was officially opening a two-day UNDP-sponsored judges’ workshop on judicial conduct and ethics in Gaborone November 20.

“Our judiciary will be comparable with judiciaries that are exemplary not only in terms of speed and quality of their work, but also in terms of the behavior of its judges in both their official and private lives,” he said.

Mr Rannowane said the training was in line with the Bangalore Principles which established standards for ethical conduct of judges. 

“The Bangalore Principles were created with the objective to respond to evidence that in many countries across continents, many people were losing confidence in the judicial systems because they were perceived to be corrupt or otherwise partial or compromised.”

He said the training should culminate in a judiciary that was aware of and upheld the  principles which encompassed fairness; accountability and integrity  which would be imbedded and apparent in the dispensation of justice.

The training, he noted, provided a platform for discussions on the draft disciplinary code of conduct for judges as well as to  look into the Judicial Services Regulations, which had been in the pipeline for a long time.

“It is high time that we have regulations that govern our conduct and give clear guidelines in terms of discipline for the purpose of providing clear measures and systems to strengthen integrity and accountability in our judiciary,” he said.

In her welcome remarks, UNDP representative, Ms Joella Marron said integrity, accountability and professionalism were central to the rule of law.

Ms Marron said the establishment of an independent and effective justice system that safeguarded human rights was the bedrock of a society that respected and protected the rule of law.

“A strong justice is also central to inclusive economic growth and prosperity which are central to Vision 2036 and the NDP 11,” she said.

Ms Marron said a functional justice system was also recognised by the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly the one on “Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.”

About the Bangalore Principles, she said they offered the judiciary a framework for regulating judicial conduct and were recognised by the six core values of independence, impartiality, integrity, propriety, equality  competence and diligence.

She said UNDP assisted judiciaries across the globe in strengthening judicial integrity and preventing corruption in the justice sector. Ends