Legal Services

The Legal Services Division is responsible for providing legal services to the Authority and for enforcement of the Competition Act and Consumer Protection Act. In carrying out its responsibilities, the Division is tasked with representing the Authority in all litigation brought before the Competition and Consumer Tribunal and in appeals made to the High Court and the Court of Appeal, including for merger litigations. The Division further renders non-case related advice to the Authority.

The main functions of the Legal Services Division are:

Provision of Legal Advice

The Legal Services Division provides legal advice to other Divisions to ensure that there is strict compliance with the Acts in all activities carried out by the Authority. The Division also provides legal advice to the Authority in terms of interpreting provisions of the Competition Act and the Consumer Protection Act to enable all the Divisions to understand and implement the Acts uniformly. Such legal advice includes interpretations of provisions on confidentiality, privileged information and the interpretation of provisions relating to accounts and audits.

Litigation

Once investigations are concluded on matters before the Authority, such matters will be referred to the Competition and Consumer Tribunal for adjudication. The Division represents the Authority in any appeals that may be made to the High Court on decisions of the Tribunal.

Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs)

The Legal Services Division facilitates cooperation with other sector regulators and strategic partners through Memoranda of Understanding. To date, MoUs have been signed with:

The Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB), the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC), the Civil Aviation of Botswana (CAAB), the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA), the Bank of Botswana (BoB), Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA), Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA), Botswana Unified Revenue Services (BURS) and Botswana Energy Regulatory Authority (BERA).