When you have a complaint that you want to make, you can write to the Registrar of the High Court or the Magistrate in charge of station. You can get details of the court you want to write to from the nearest court. Your complaint can also be made by phone, fax or e-mail.

You can complain about:

• treatment you receive from the Deputy Sheriff
• attachment of property that does not belong to you
• the manner in which the sale was conducted
• fees demanded by the officers
• the manner of advertising I
• the distribution of proceeds of sale

The complaint can be verbal or in writing. It is preferable that it be in writing as it will be filled for future reference.

• Complaints about a lawyer:

The Law Society of Botswana
P O Box 50889,Gaborone
Tel: 3900200
Unit 5, Ist Floor, Chobe House
Kagiso Mall,Broadhurst
Gaborone

• Complaints against a Magistrate

The Registrar of the High Court,
Private Bag 001, Lobatse

• Complaints about a judge:

On receipt of a complaint, the officer responsible will investigate it. After investigation, you will receive a full reply.
The reply will:

• Set out your complaint in full so that you can be sure we
• understood it;
• Indicate whether or not the Court official made a mistake; and
• Give reasons for the decision.

If after investigation, it is discovered that the official made a mistake, you will receive an apology from the Head of the Section or Registry, with an explanation of what will be done to avoid a similar mistake from happening again.

Where you are not satisfied with the reply of the head of Section or Registry, you may appeal to the Deputy Registrar in charge of that Division or if the reply was from the Deputy Registrar, to the Registrar: In your appeal, mention that you are not happy with the response of the Section or Registry head. Ultimately, you can appeal to the Honourable Chief justice if the Registrar's response does not satisfy you.

Civil servants are now required to wear identity cards. If you have noted the name of the officer who was helping you, state the name in your complaint.

In the case of matters from Magistrates' Court complaints should be sent to the Clerk of Court in charge of the station or to the Magistrate. Addresses of each court can be found in the telephone directory in the blue pages, under Government departments, Administration of justice.

If your complaint was to the Section head/or Registry head, you will get your reply within14 days. If the complaint is to the Deputy Registrar; you should get an acknowledgement within 7 days and a full reply in 14 days. Should we for any reason fail to meet these targets, we will write to let you know why and tell you when to expect a full reply.

We do our best to handle your complaint properly and fairly. However; if you are not satisfied with the way we dealt with it, you can approach the Ombudsman at:

The Office of the Ombudsman
Kopanyo House
Private Bag BR 374,Gaborone
Tel: 3953322

Our Address is:
The High Court of Botswana
Private Bag 001 , Lobatse
Tel: 5330396/7 Fax: 5306390/5332317

Private Bag F I 3, Francistown
Tel: 2412125   Fax: 2417025

E-mail: gnthomiwa@gov.bw, grwelengera@gov.bw