Establishment and jurisdiction

SADC Administrative Tribunal (SADCAT) was established by a Resolution of the SADC Summit meeting held in Gaborone, Republic of Botswana, on 18 August 2015 pursuant to Article 9(2) and 10(6) of the SADC Treaty. SADCAT has jurisdiction to hear and determine labour disputes between SADC Secretariat or any of its institutions, as an employer, and an employee. This includes a dispute relating to the contract of employment of a staff or to the terms of appointment of such staff member. The Tribunal is headed by an elected Judge-President and Vice-President who are assisted by a Secretariat.

Applicable Laws

In deciding any application or appeal, SADCAT shall apply the internal rules and regulations of the SADC Secretariat or SADC Institution, internal policies on human resources and generally recognized principles of international administrative law concerning the resolution of employment disputes of staff in International Organizations.

Composition of the SADCAT Tribunal

The Tribunal is an independent institution of SADC. It has a pool of seven Judges from SADC Member States who are appointed by the Council of Ministers upon recommendation from the Committee of Ministers of Justice/ Attorneys General. The Tribunal has two levels of administration of justice; the First Instance and the Appeals Panel. A First Instance Panel can constitute of one (1) or three (3) Judges whereas an Appeals Panel can only constitute of three (3) Judges.

Currently, the Tribunal comprises of the following Judges;

President, Lady Justice Sanji Mmasenono Monagang, a national of the Republic of Botswana. She graduated with a Law Degree from the University of Botswana in 1987. In the legal fraternity, she served as Principal Magistrate in the Courts of Botswana and was later very instrumental in setting up the Law Society of Botswana in 1997, eventually becoming its first Chief Executive Officer.

She has served in various prominent positions at international level including being appointed as the First Vice- President of the International Criminal Court, expert Judge of the High Court of the Kingdom of Eswatini and Judge of the High Court of Gambia under the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation. She also served as Commissioner of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights which was established by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union.

She is a member of various distinguished international organisations including the International Association of Women Judges, the International Commission of Jurists, the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Association of Refugee Law Judges, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the International Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa.

The remaining Judges are from the Kingdom of Eswatini, the Republic of Malawi, the Republic of Mozambique, the Republic of Zambia and the Republic of Zimbabwe

Time Limit

There is generally a period of ninety (90) days from the date of a final decision or omission to file an application before SADCAT and forty-five (45) days from the date of a decision or finding by the First Instance Panel to file an appeal.

An appeal can only be entertained if the First Instance Panel has;

exceeded its jurisdiction or competence;

failed to exercise jurisdiction vested in the Panel;

erred on a question of law;

committed an error in procedure affecting the decision of the case; or

erred on a question of fact, resulting in a manifestly unreasonable decision.

Representation and language

A litigant can appear in person or be represented by a member of the SADC staff association or a lawyer practising in any one of the SADC Member State before both levels of SADCAT. An application can be filed in any one of SADC official languages.

Location and contact

The SADCAT Registry and Tribunal are located at iTower, first floor, Gaborone, Central Business District, Republic of Botswana.

Phone number: +267 395 1863 - Email: njuddoo@sadc.int