1. In 2010, the Government introduced, through the Administration of Justice, the Judicial Case Management System, at the level of the High Court and the Court of Appeal. This was intended to deal with backlog of cases. Statistics before 2010 reflected that the disposal rate of cases stood at an average of 75% – 80% annually. It is worth noting that the Judicial Case Management System has also been introduced at the Magistrate Courts. 2. The Administration of Justice has also introduced Mobile Courts. Mobile Courts are intended to take justice to the people, particularly in areas where there are no courts. 3. The judiciary continues to reform its internal processes and plans to introduce Court Annexed Mediation which is a form of alternative dispute resolution in order to accelerate the disposal of cases and reduce litigation costs. 4. A Legal aid project was piloted by the government in collaboration with four civil society organisations25 from 2011 to 2013. It is now a fully fledged institution operating under the name, Legal Aid Botswana, and provides legal assistance to indigent persons in Botswana. The Government of Botswana is aware of the principles of legal aid laid down by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in its Guidelines and Principles on the Right to a Fair Trial and Legal Assistance in Africa, which urge States parties to provide for legal assistance in “any case where the interest of justice so require26.” The demand for legal aid in the country since its inception has been as follows: Year 2011 2012 Legal Aid Botswana through its offices 132 963 NGOs 88 652 TOTAL 220 1645 25 The following organizations were selected and approved by a Ministerial Tender Committee: Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and HIV (BONELA), Women Against Rape (WAR), DITSWANELO and EMANG BASADI. According to the Guidelines, the “interest of justice” is determined by considering (1) in criminal matters, the seriousness of the offence and the severity of the sentence (2) in civil matters, the complexity of the case and the ability of the party to adequately represent himself or herself, the right that is affected and the likely impact of the outcome of the case on the wider community. See Guidelines and Principles on the Right to a fair trial and legal assistance in Africa, Chapter H (b). 26 40 | P a g e