“Just as I choose a ship to sail in or a house to live in, so I choose a death for my passage from life”-L.A. Seneca Even speaking of euthanasia may spark a wave of hostility in some quarters as many will find it hard to stomach the idea. However, reason should give way to...
Cameras have recently been installed at most police stations. Private interviews between a Barrister and his client can consequently be recorded and listened to. It follows the logic of Government when we now see surveillance cameras at every nook and corner of the island. Undoubtedly, George Orwell would have said “Big brother is watching you”....
Reform of the electoral process is by far more important that reform of the electoral system. Our electoral system is over the years achieving what is expected from it in that its outcome is over the years, except for 1976 , producing a stable government. However, for unknown reasons few politicians seem obsessed with reform...
As per section 1 of the Constitution, Mauritius is a sovereign democratic state. This sacrosanct section espouses the principles of rule of law and separation of powers. The state is divided into three branches namely the executive, the judiciary and parliament. Over the years we have heard about reforms in different sectors including the executive,...
Judicial and legal officers are appointed by the Judicial and Legal Service Commission by virtue of sections 85 and 86 of the Constitution. After decades of debate about the need for judicial training prior to appointment as Judge or Magistrate, the Institute for Judicial and Legal Studies (IJLS) was finally set up, during my tenure...
There is unanimity across the political spectrum that the conduct of police enquiries should be regulated by legislation as the current system condones abuses and malpractices. In that respect, a lot has been said over the years about the preparation and finalization of a Police and Criminal Evidence Bill (PACE). Under the present Government, two...
Following the formation of government in the aftermath of the 2019 general elections, all eyes were focused on the Prime Minister to announce the name of the person who would occupy the prestigious constitutional post of Speaker of the National Assembly. The press and other opinion leaders mentioned few names of persons who had had...
On 06 August 2018, following the landmark judgment in the case of Navtej Singh Johar & Ors v Union of India & Ors article 377 of the Indian Penal Code was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of India. That provision of the law criminalized homosexual sex and transgender sex between consenting adults. This judgment...
The National Human Rights Commission came into existence with the Protection of Human Rights Act 1999 which was subsequently amended in 2012. Human Rights have been defined therein as rights and freedoms referred to in Chapter II of the Constitution which include protection of right to personal liberty, protection from inhuman treatment, provisions to secure...
In the wake of the Commission of Inquiry report on drugs: Is the Prime Minister acting as Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde? The commitment to set up a Commission of Inquiry on Drugs was among the twelve pledges taken by the defunct L’Alliance Lepep, led by the Mouvement Socialiste Militant(MSM) prior to the 2014 general...
