Editing Politics of Botswana (section)

=== Judicial branch ===
The highest court of Botswana is the Court of Appeal, which is constituted under section 99 of the Constitution and consists of a president and such number of justices of appeal as may be prescribed by the National Assembly.<ref name="constitution">{{Cite web |title=Constitution of Botswana |url=http://www.chr.up.ac.za/undp/domestic/docs/c_Botswana.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.chr.up.ac.za/undp/domestic/docs/c_Botswana.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09}}</ref> There are eight judges of the Court of Appeal, who are all expatriates drawn from different parts of the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]]. To date, no Motswana has ever been appointed to the Court of Appeal.<ref name="hierarchy">{{Cite web |title=The Hierarchy of the Courts |url=http://www.gov.bw/en/Ministries--Authorities/Ministries/Administration-of-Justice-AOJ/About-AOJ1/The-Hierarchy-of-the-Courts/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110218013129/www.gov.bw/en/Ministries--Authorities/Ministries/Administration-of-Justice-AOJ/About-AOJ1/The-Hierarchy-of-the-Courts/ |archive-date=18 February 2011 |website=Government of Botswana}}</ref>

The [[High Court (Botswana)|High Court]] is a superior court of record with unlimited original jurisdiction to hear and determine any criminal and civil cases under any law. The High Court is constituted under section 95 of the Constitution and consists of a Chief Justice and such number of other judges of the High Court as may be prescribed by the National Assembly.<ref name="constitution" /> There are sixteen permanent judges of the High Court. Until 1992, the judges of the High Court were expatriate judges who were appointed on short-term contracts of two to three years. In 1992 the first citizen judges were appointed to the bench. There are three High Court divisions in [[Lobatse]], Gaborone and [[Francistown]].<ref name="hierarchy" />

Most cases are settled by customary courts, which are presided over by tribal chiefs. These courts are often preferred by the community due to their relative simplicity.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal |last=Sharma |first=Keshav C. |date=2020-08-23 |title=Role of local government in Botswana for effective service delivery: Challenges, prospects and lessons |url=https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/informit.928945225837497 |journal=Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance |issue=7 |pages=135–142 }}</ref> There are also [[Magistrates' Courts]] in Botswana. These courts are subordinate to the High Court and hear a range of civil, criminal and family law matters. There are nineteen Magistrates' Courts in the country, with fifty magistrates of whom seventeen are expatriate.<ref name="hierarchy" />