AoJ, LSB impasse bad for judiciary– UB professor
Lebogang Mosikare | Monday February 12, 2024 06:00
This week, the LSB boycotted the opening of the 2024 Legal Year and instead held its parallel session where pertinent issues regarding the state of the Judiciary in the country were discussed. The LSB cited various unresolved administrative issues with the AoJ for boycotting the opening of the 2024 Legal Year after the LSB Council tabled a motion before its members calling on them to boycott this year's official ceremony and instead host a parallel event at the KSB Secretariat on February 6, 2024, where the chairperson addressed the members and discussions on the way forward take place.
A majority of LSB attorneys in good standing voted to boycott the opening of the 2024 Legal Year. The boycotting of the opening of this year’s Legal Year cycle was historic since the advent of democracy in Botswana. Before taking the decision to boycott this year’s opening the legal year, the LSB released a communiqué saying: “In the first quarter of 2023, the Council met with the Chief Justice (CJ) Terence Rannowane, former Chief Registrar, and a few judges of the High Court with a view to discuss issues of mutual interest and re-establish a relationship. However, the promised quarterly meetings were consistently cancelled or postponed by the AoJ, leaving the Council uninformed about interventions promised to rectify pressing issues within the Judiciary. The Council states that the current state of the Judiciary is a disgrace and lamentable, highlighting various issues including continuous delays in pro deo fee payments, inordinate delays in default judgments, shortages of stationery at High Courts, and a system-wide failure in Case Management.” The press release added:
“The image of the Judiciary, and the public confidence in this arm of the State are at an all-time low,” alleging a state of crisis with applications against the CJ, accusations of bribery, and judges writing judgments for others. "It is a truly deplorable situation, and we believe it is time for the LSB 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,” said the LSB. The unprecedented move by the LSB to boycott the Opening of the 2024 Legal Year did not go down well with a minority of lawyers who were not in favour of the boycott.
When asked if the impasse between the AoJ and LSB has any impact on the Judiciary, Balule said: “In my view the impasse is a demonstration of mistrust between the AoJ and the LSB and this can adversely affect the smooth operation of the Administration of Justice. As I said above, the smooth Administration of Justice depends on mutual trust between judicial officers and members of the bar, and when the trust is broken, it is highly likely to adversely affect the operation of the courts. And perhaps, a more serious result of a strained relationship between judicial officers and members of the bar is that it could lead to members of the public losing confidence and trust in administration of justice in the country. This will be very bad for the rule of law.” Asked how the standoff between the AoJ and LSB can be resolved for the benefit of all stakeholders (AoJ, LSB, the public and others), Balule responded: “The standoff can only be meaningfully resolved through honest dialogue between AoJ and LSB. The concerns raised by the LSB have merit, and in a democracy, one would expect that the issues raised must be debated in public and consensus reached to resolve the conflict.”