01 Feb 2022

The judiciary  will continue to harness technology to achieve effective service delivery and meet expectations of the modern customer.

Chief Justice Terence Rannowane said this yesterday during the official opening of the legal year.

He said in line with the government reset agenda, the judiciary would adopt new methods to accelerate service delivery and implementation of new systems.

Justice Rannowane said the judiciary had already embarked on a few projects to digitize its processes among them real time court reporting system.

He revealed that the system  had already been installed in some courtrooms in Lobatse, Gaborone and Francistown high court divisions.

Through the development, recordings could be displayed on large screens or transmitted to remote locations, explained the chief justice.

Once fully implemented, he said, real time reporting would eliminate the need to transcribe notes to produce transcript of proceedings.

“This will in turn address the prevailing challenge of the delay in the transcription of records of proceedings which contributes to the delay in the hearing of appeals,” he said.

Justice Rannowane said the judiciary was also looking into the use of new technology systems for the immediate transcribing of audio into text.

He said the advent of COVID-19 had made it more urgent for the judiciary to adopt reforms such as virtual proceedings in an attempt to reduce the need for physical appearance of litigants and attorneys in courts and to enable the adjudication of cases online.

On other issues, Justice Rannowane said the Magistrates Court Act had been amended to effect a substantial increase in the jurisdiction of magistrates.

The move, he said, was aimed at empowering magistrates to implement enhanced penalties for serious and sophisticated transnational crimes such as human trafficking, game animals trafficking, drug-related crimes and money laundering.

Justice Rannowane said to that end, regional and chief magistrates’ civil jurisdiction had been increased from P40 000 to P100 000.

In terms of punishment, the jurisdiction of both magistrate categories had been increased to 20 years imprisonment or a fine of P100 000 or both.

The chief justice said in recognition of the need for expeditious case disposal, the judiciary had developed new rules providing for comprehensive performance standards and setting timelines for conclusion of certain types of cases.

He said the rules also required the judge president of any division to report judges who failed to comply with set timeframes to the chief justice.

Law Society of Botswana (LSB)chairman, Mr Tshekiso Tshekiso decried financial constraints beleaguering the organisation resulting in it not being able to  effectively discharge its mandate.

He called on government to consider assisting LSB more so that public sector attorneys did not subscribe to the society.

In response, attorney general, Advocate Abraham Keetshabe, said government’s sources of funding had dwindled therefore it would be difficult for LSB to be funded.

Regarding constitutional review, he said the exercise should be given due attention.

The event was held under the theme: Amended rules of the High Court, greater control and decisiveness. Ends