Advanced Search

Births And Deaths Registration - General Provisions Relating To Registration (Ss 9-23)

Subscribe to a Global-Regulation Premium Membership Today!

Key Benefits:

Subscribe Now for only USD$40 per month.

 

9.       Duty of District Registrar on receipt of notice of birth, still-birth or death

 

            (1) On receipt by the District Registrar or Registration Officer of any notice, information, memorandum, return or certificate in respect of a birth, still-birth or death given or transmitted under this Act, he shall examine the same and cause any omission, defect or inaccuracy therein to be supplied or corrected as far as may be possible, and for this purpose he may require any person whose duty it is to give, or who has given, information under this Act to attend and give information in the manner prescribed by section 8.

            (2) It shall be the duty of every District Registrar or Registration Officer to ensure that every birth or death which comes to his notice is recorded on the information form prescribed therefor and that such form is duly completed.

            (3) After complying with subsections (1) and (2), the District Registrar or Registration Officer shall transmit the completed form and any other related documents to the Registrar.

 

10.     Birth, still-birth and death certificates

 

            (1) The Registrar shall furnish the next of kin or authorised person, upon application, with birth, still-birth or death certificates, and shall cause a search to be made in the Births Register, Still-Birth Register or Death Register, as the case may be, for that purpose.

            (2) Every such certificate shall, in all courts of law and public offices within Botswana, be prima facie evidence of the particulars set forth therein.

 

11.     Late registration of births, still-births and deaths

 

            (1) Except in accordance with this section no-

     (a)     birth or still-birth shall be registered after the expiry of 60 days from the date of such birth or still-birth;

     (b)     death shall be registered after the expiry of 30 days from the date of such death.

            (2) An application for the registration of a birth, still-birth or death after the expiry of the periods stated in subsection (1) shall be referred to as an application for late registration and shall be-

     (a)     made in the prescribed form to the District Registrar or Registration Officer in the district or area in which the birth, still-birth or death took place; and

     (b)     accompanied by the prescribed fee:

                      Provided that no fee shall be payable in the case of an application for late registration if, at the time of birth, still-birth or death, the law made no provision for its registration.

            (3) The District Registrar or the Registration Officer shall comply with section 9 in respect of each application for late registration.

            (4) The Registrar may refuse to register a birth, still-birth or death under this section until such time as material facts relating to such birth, still-birth or death have been proved to the Registrar's satisfaction.

            (5) Any person aggrieved by a refusal of the Registrar in terms of subsection (4) may appeal in the prescribed manner to the Minister, whose decision shall be final.

 

12.     Registrar may, on application thereto, alter surnames in births registers

 

            (1) Where the birth of any person has been registered under this Act or under any law in force at any time before this Act came into operation by which provision was made for the registration of births, and that person has lawfully assumed a surname different from the surname under which his birth was so registered, either his parents or his guardians, if he is under the age of 21 years, or he himself, if he has attained the age of 21 years, may apply to the Registrar for the alteration of his surname in the relevant births register.

            (2) If the Registrar is satisfied that the applicant is competent to make the application under subsection (1), he may, on payment of the prescribed fee, amend the registration of the person's birth by entering the new surname in the relevant births register; but he shall not erase the surname originally recorded therein.

 

13.     Registrar may, on application thereto, alter forenames in births registers

 

            (1) Where the birth of any person has been registered under this Act, or under any law in force at any time before this Act came into operation by which provision was made for the registration of births, either his parents or his guardian, if he is under the age of 21 years, or he himself, if he has attained the age of 21 years, may apply to the Registrar for the alteration of the forename or forenames, under which his birth was so registered, in the relevant births register.

            (2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4) and to compliance with any directions which he may consider necessary or expedient to issue in a particular case and to his being satisfied that the applicant is competent to make the application under subsection (1), the Registrar may, on payment of the prescribed fee, amend the registration of the person's birth by entering a new forename or new forenames in the relevant births register; but he shall not erase any forename originally recorded therein.

            (3) The Registrar shall not amend the registration of a person's birth under this section unless he is satisfied that-

     (a)     the person has a settled wish and intention to be and to continue to be generally known by the new forename or forenames either in substitution for or in addition to the forename or forenames under which his birth was registered:

                      Provided that this paragraph shall not apply in the case of a person who is, in the opinion of the Registrar, too young to express any such settled wish and intention; and

     (b)     there is a reasonable expectation, in all the circumstances, that he will continue to be generally so known.

            (4) In determining every application under this section by parents or a guardian, the Registrar shall take into account the wishes of the parents or a guardian.

 

14.     Restrictions as to alteration of births, still-births and deaths registered

 

            Subject to the other provisions of this Act, the Registrar shall not alter any register of births, still-births or deaths unless authorized or directed by order of the High Court to do so:

            Provided that the Registrar may, without an order of the High Court, alter any such register in order to correct errors therein of spelling or transcription alone.

 

15.     Corrections of errors in registers

 

            (1) The High Court may, on application thereto by the Registrar or by any other person and on payment of the prescribed fee, by order authorize or direct the Registrar to alter any register of births, still-births or deaths in order to correct an error therein which, by virtue of section 14, the Registrar is prohibited from so correcting without such an order.

            (2) The High Court shall not make an order under this section unless the material facts, in connection with which the application is made, are proved to its satisfaction.

 

16.     Authorization of High Court to register births, still-births and deaths

 

            (1) The High Court may, on application thereto at any time by the Registrar or by any other person and on payment of the prescribed fee, by order authorize or direct the Registrar to register a birth, still-birth or death, as the case may be.

            (2) The High Court shall not make an order under this section unless the material facts relating to the birth, still-birth or death, in respect of which the application is made, are proved to its satisfaction.

            (3) Without prejudice to the generality of section 18, the High Court may make an order under this section notwithstanding that no person is reasonably available or able to assist the High Court in reaching a determination as to the person who is or was required or authorized to give notice or information of the birth, still-birth or death, in respect of which the application is made under this Act or under any law in force at any time before this Act came into operation by which provision was made for the registration of births, still-births and deaths.

 

17.     Rules for applications under section 15 or 16

 

            The Chief Justice may make rules of court for regulating and prescribing the procedure in connection with applications to the High Court under section 15 or 16.

 

18.     High Court not bound by rules of evidence or procedure

 

            In determining an application thereto under section 15 or 16, the High Court shall not be bound by any rule of evidence or, subject to any rules of court which may be made under section 17 in respect of such an application, by any rule of procedure.

 

19.     Registration of person as father of illegitimate child

 

            The District Registrar or Registration Officer shall not enter or cause or permit to be entered in any information form or other place, the name of any person as the father of a child born out of wedlock the birth of which may be, or is required to be, registered under the Act without the consent of that person, which consent shall be given and recorded in such manner as may be prescribed.

 

20.     Amendment of birth registration after legitimation of child born out of wedlock

 

            (1) When a person was born (whether before or after the commencement of this Act) of parents who were not married to each other at the time of his birth but who married each other after the registration of his birth, application may be made to the Registrar for the registration of his birth as if his parents had been married to each other at the time of his birth, and thereupon the Registrar shall, if satisfied that the alleged parents of such person are in fact his parents and that they were married to each other, register the birth in the prescribed manner as if such person's parents had been married to each other at the time of his birth.

            (2) If a person's parents who were not married to each other at the time of his birth have married each other before the registration of his birth, such birth shall be registered as if they had been married to each other at the time of his birth.

 

21.     Certificate by medical practitioner as to cause of death

 

            Whenever any medical practitioner has attended during the last illness of any person, it shall be the duty of such medical practitioner to send to the District Registrar or Registration Officer, without fee or reward, a certificate of the cause of death or a notice of inability to sign such a certificate.

 

22.     Determination of cause of unnatural death

 

            (1) Whenever the death of any person is the subject of an investigation, report or inquest under the Inquests Act or is the subject of an inquiry under the  Mines, Quarries, Works and Machinery Act, the District Registrar or Registration Officer shall not record the cause of death until he is supplied with particulars thereof under subsection (2).

            (2) On the conclusion of the inquest or the inquiry referred to in subsection (1) or on the issue of a certificate by a District Commissioner under section 7(b) of the Inquests Act, or on the conclusion of any criminal proceedings arising out of the said death, the person who presided at such inquest or inquiry or who issued a certificate under the said section 7(b) shall forthwith report the cause of death to the District Registrar or Registration Officer.

            (3) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this section, the District Registrar or Registration Officer may, in such special circumstances as may be prescribed, record the cause of death before any investigation, report, inquest or inquiry referred to in subsection (1) is made or held, if a certificate of the cause of death is issued by a medical practitioner-

     (a)     who performed a post-mortem examination on the body; or

     (b)     who has examined the body:

            Provided that where the cause of death subsequently reported to the District Registrar at the conclusion of an inquest or inquiry under subsection (2) differs from that contained in the certificate issued by a medical practitioner under this subsection, the District Registrar shall amend his record by substituting the report of the inquest or inquiry for the certificate issued by the medical practitioner.

 

23.     Affidavits, etc., to be exempt from stamp duties

 

            Notwithstanding anything contained in any law, no affidavit or solemn declaration made by any person for the purpose of complying with any provision of this Act shall be liable to stamp duty.