Botswana's apex court ruling set aside in unusual move

The year has begun in dramatic fashion for Botswana with a situation that appears unheard of: the High Court has found that the apex court of appeal acted unconstitutionally in its sentencing of a former civil servant for corruption. In addition, by a majority, it set aside the top court’s sentence. Many readers will surely react with astonishment, and ask how it is possible for a lower court to question and set aside the judgment of a country’s apex court. Carmel Rickard, in her A Matter of Justice column on the Legalbrief site, explains the High Court’s reasoning and the stark choice apparently now faced by the country’s justice system.

Majority decision

Minority decision

A Matter of Justice