Pritzker Legal Research Center: Botswana: Center for International Human Rights: National and Comparative Law

Legal System

Botswana has mixed system of Dutch-Roman law (inherited from the Cape Colony) with English common law influences and customary law.

Government of Botswana: Hierarchy of Courts
Provides an overview of the composition and jurisdiction of courts in Botswana.

Research Process

Use the following strategy to find legal materials from Botswana:

Identify the country’s legal system to understand the relevant national sources of law for the country.
Using a research guide to assist you, identify relevant resources where you can access foreign legal materials.
Retrieve or search for the foreign legal materials using the suggested resources.

Because databases/websites for finding legal materials from Botswana are limited, you will likely need to rely on secondary sources to assist with identifying relevant citations to laws or cases. These secondary sources summarize and explain the law.

Research Guides

These research guides are useful starting points for understanding Botswana's legal system as well as the sources of law in Botswana. These guides include links to recommended online resources that provide access to legal materials from this country. Please note that the Botswana E-Laws mentioned in these guides has not been updated since 2020 and no longer exists.

Constitution

The Constitution of Botswana commenced on 30 September 1966 and has been subsequently amended.

The UN Women Global Gender Equality Constitutional Database provides access to gender equality related provisions in constitutions from around the world.

Constitute Project: Botswana
This resource includes a feature to allow users to compare constitutional provisions by subject around the world.
World Constitutions Illustrated: Botswana
This resource provides access to historical versions of the constitution along with easy access to related commentaries and scholarly articles.

Laws and Cases

Resources available for finding legal materials from Botswana consist of free websites (government websites and Legal Information Institutes), subject law collections hosted by NGOs or other entities, and subscription databases. Westlaw and Lexis do not provide access to laws and cases from Botswana.

If you conduct a Google search to retrieve any legal materials cited in secondary sources, make sure to critically evaluate whether the website is a authoritative or credible resource.

Online Resources

Blackhall's Laws of Botswana
Subscription database providing access to the statutory laws (Principal and Subsidiary Legislation) of Botswana in a consolidated form. For assistance with accessing this database, please contact Sarah.
SAFLII: Botswana: High Court
Contains decisions from the High Court from 2006 - 2016 with a few selected decisions in previous years.
SAFLII: Botswana: Court of Appeal
Contains decisions from the Court of Appeal (the highest court) from 1981 - early 2017.

Print Resources

The Botswana Law Reports
Call Number: Main Library, Herskovits Library - 348.681043 L415
Cases determined by the High Court and the Court of Appeal of the Republic of Botswana from ~1987-1993, 2000-2007, 2008, and 2013-2019, along with a cumulative index.
Law Reports
Call Number: Main Library, Herskovits Library - 348.681043 L415
Reports of the Botswana High Court and Court of Appeal (1968-1980).

Subject Law Collections

Subject-specific collections of laws, which collect laws from various countries pertaining to a particular subject, are useful resources to incorporate into your research process. These resources often have better search capabilities than foreign government websites and can generally be navigated in English, even though the full-text laws will mostly be in the official language for the country.

For additional suggestions for subject law collections beyond the selected databases listed below, see the GlobaLex Foreign Law - Subject Law Collections on the Web research guide.

Baker McKenzie Fighting Domestic Violence Hub
Tool that provides information (including links to laws and cases) about domestic violence in selected jurisdictions around the world. Topics include legal provisions, framework guiding domestic violence law, similarities and differences in terminology, protection for domestic violence victims and relief granted, and prosecutorial considerations.
UN Global Database on Violence Against Women
Provides access laws, policies, and other information on measures undertaken by countries to address violence against women.
UNODC SHERLOC Portal
Provides access to databases of cases and legislation pertaining to various crimes, including counterfeiting, drug offences, and falsified medical products.
NATLEX
Provides access to national labor, social security, and related human rights legislation from more than 196 countries.
ECOLEX
Provides access to legislation and jurisprudence pertaining to environmental law from various jurisdictions.
FAOLEX
Provides access to national laws, regulations, and policies pertaining to food, agriculture, and natural resources management from around the world.
Refworld
Provides access to national legislation pertaining to refugees and asylum seekers from around the world.