Section 52-56 Constitution of Botswana 1966
Section 52, 53, 54, 55, 56 of the Constitution of Botswana 1966, among others, are under Part III (Executive Functions) of Chapter IV of the Constitution. Chapter IV is titled The Executive.
Section 52 Botswana Constitution 1966
Permanent Secretaries
Where any Minister has been charged with responsibility for any department of Government, he or she shall exercise general direction and control over that department and, subject to such direction and control, the department shall be under the supervision of a Permanent Secretary whose office shall be a public office.
Section 53 Botswana Constitution 1966
Prerogative of Mercy
The President may—
a. grant to any person convicted of any offence a pardon, either free or
subject to lawful conditions;
b. grant to any person a respite, either indefinite or for a specified period, of
the execution of any punishment imposed on that person for any offence;
c. substitute a less severe form of punishment for any punishment imposed on
any person for any offence; and
d. remit the whole or part of any punishment imposed on any person for any
offence or of any penalty or forfeiture otherwise due to the Government on
account of any offence.
Section 54 Botswana Constitution 1966
Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy
1. There shall be an Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy which shall
consist of—
a. the Vice-President or a Minister appointed by the President by instrument
in writing under his or her hand;
b. the Attorney-General; and
c. a person qualified to practise in Botswana as a medical practitioner,
appointed by the President by instrument in writing under his or her hand.
2. A member of the Committee appointed under subsection (1)(a) or (c) of this
section shall hold his or her seat thereon for such period as may be specified in
the instrument by which he or she was appointed:
Provided that his or her seat shall become vacant—
i. in the case of a person who, at the date of his or her appointment, was the
Vice-President or a Minister, if he or she ceases to be the Vice-President or
a Minister; or
ii. if the President, by instrument in writing under his or her hand, so directs.
3. The Committee shall not be summoned except by the authority of the President
who shall, as far as is practicable, attend and preside at all meetings of the
Committee, and, in the absence of the President, the member of the Committee
appointed under subsection (1)(a) of this section shall preside.
4. The Committee may act notwithstanding any vacancy in its membership and its
proceedings shall not be invalidated by the presence or participation of any
person not entitled to be present at or to participate in those proceedings.
5. Subject to the provisions of this section, the Committee may regulate its own
procedure.
Section 55 Botswana Constitution 1966
Functions of Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy
1. Where any person has been sentenced to death for any offence, the President
shall cause a written report of the case from the trial judge, together with such
other information derived from the record of the case or elsewhere as he may
require, to be considered at a meeting of the Advisory Committee on the
Prerogative of Mercy; and after obtaining the advice of the Committee he or she
shall decide whether to exercise any of his or her powers under section 53 of
this Constitution.
2. The President may consult with the Committee before deciding whether to
exercise any of his or her powers under the said section 53 in any case not falling
within subsection (1) of this section.
Section 56 Botswana Constitution 1966
Constitution of offices
Subject to the provisions of this Constitution and of any Act of Parliament, the
powers of constituting and abolishing offices for Botswana shall vest in the
President.
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