Adjudication of Civil Cases

• Preparation of a Writ of Summons (Form 2 or Form 7) and annexations of documents supporting your claim.
• Preparation of a Petition or Notice of Motion (Form 4 or Form 3).

Parties to a case are required to submit:

• A writ of Summons shall be in Form 2 (High Court) or Form 7 (Magistrate) in the first schedule with such variations as circumstances require.
• The Notice of Motion shall be in Form 4 or Form 3 in the first schedule with such variations as circumstances require, and shall state the rule under which the application is brought.  The applicant shall;
  1. Set forth the order sought;
  2. File an Affidavit of Service in support of the application(upon any motion, petition or other application, evidence shall be given by affidavit);
  3. File a draft of the order which he seeks
  4. Attach any substantiating documents if any

As per Order 6(12) of the High Court rules, the time within which a defendant shall be required to enter appearance to defend shall be reckoned as follows:

• An individual defendant where the defendant's dwelling house or other place of residence or place of business or employment is within the jurisdiction of any other originating process at the High Court Registry (either Gaborone, Lobatse or Francistown).
• company or corporation, its registered office or principal place of business within the jurisdiction is within a radius of 100 kilometers from the High Court Registry (either Gaborone, Lobatse or Francistown),
• The time limited for the defendant to enter an appearance shall be 14 Court days (Monday to Friday, except public holidays) after the service of the writ of summons or other processes (including the day of service) to the defendant.
• In an action against the government the an appearance to defend may be entered at any time within 21 days after service of the summons, unless otherwise specified.
• Generally, proceedings against a defendant are not deemed to have begun until they have been served with a writ of summons.