Africa-Press – Botswana. Senior, prominent, and outstanding lawyers do not want to apply for jobs at the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), as they would rather prefer to be called up, especially for judge positions.
This was revealed by Minister of Justice Machana Shamukuni in Parliament on Monday. Responding to a question from Okavango legislator Kenny Kapinga, the minister said the JSC has noted over the years that senior, prominent and outstanding lawyers were not applying for vacant positions as they are successful in their own right and have no need to apply for a job. Kapinga wanted to know about the appointment of commissioners and advertisement of posts for judges. Shamukuni said the lawyers, however, would wish to serve the country as judges if selected for interview by the JSC itself. He said the new call for expressions of interest procedure which commenced on January 2019 sought to combat this issue of lawyers who do not want to apply for jobs.
Shamukuni also indicated that this procedure will ensure that the JSC has a list that includes prominent and outstanding lawyers to shortlist from which does not involve them applying. He said the JSC has created a Register to enter the names of eligible lawyers interested in being considered for the position of Judge of the High Court. “Only those who confirm their availability at the time of a vacancy will be called for an interview at that time.
Furthermore, to ensure transparency, the representative of the Law Society of Botswana sitting in the JSC is included in every shortlisting and interview process. To combat the problem of outstanding lawyers not applying, members of the public, relevant interest groups, and the Law Society of Botswana, have been requested to encourage outstanding lawyers to enter their names on the Register so as to ensure that the best available talent is availed for service on the bench,” he further highlighted. Shamukuni pointed out that prominent members of the profession will now be able to declare their willingness to serve without being required to apply whenever a vacancy arises. “This shall remain the procedure laid down by the JSC until and unless they deem it fit to adapt the process further the current procedure serves the JSC well and we have seen a balanced recruitment of judges from the private sector, parastatals, and the academia and judiciary,” Shamukuni said.
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