Botswana
Mixed: civil and common law
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Botswana has a mixed system. Its general law is Roman-Dutch common law, brought from South Africa, with English-influenced procedure, and customary law is applied in customary courts, often called kgotla. Its Constitution dates from 1966.
Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Where the law comes from
- The Constitution of 1966, the highest law
- Acts of Parliament
- Roman-Dutch common law, developed by the courts
- Customary law, applied in customary courts, especially for family and land matters
The main courts
- The Court of Appeal at the top
- The High Court, with magistrates' courts below
- Customary courts (kgotla) run by traditional authorities
Becoming a lawyer
A law degree, a period of practical training, and admission as an attorney, with membership of the Law Society.
What may surprise you
- The kgotla, a traditional village assembly and court, is still part of the justice system.
- As in South Africa, Roman-Dutch law, not English common law, supplies the private-law rules.
- Customary and general law courts work side by side.
Related systems
How this country is classified
The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Botswana as: Civil law, Common law. It names the systems in order of importance.
The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.
Other countries in the same family
Sources
Sources last reviewed: October 2026.
TheLawToKnow Tools’s Legal Families Atlas is an educational overview. It simplifies on purpose, and it is not legal advice. For a real legal question about Botswana, consult a lawyer qualified there. Report a mistake.
