Trade unions and workers in general have over the years made representations, in vain, to review the way disciplinary committees are conducted.. A Disciplinary Committee (DC) is usually set up by the employer who selects and remunerates the chairperson. The recommendation of the DC does not bind the employer, who is as such always free...
Mauritius has recently been reviewed by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). In its concluding observations on the eighth periodic report of Mauritius on 09 November, 2018, the Committee stated it remained concerned at the gaps in national legislation on some...
Rights and obligations in a marriage are contained in our French inspired 1808 Civil Code by virtue of which a concubin has no legal status in a relationship. The Code Napoleon saw concubinage as “puisque les concubins se désintéressent du droit, le droit n’aqu’à se désintéresser d’eux”. Contrary to Mauritius, the law in France has...
Sections 1 and 5 of the Constitution guarantee the right to personal liberty, precluding any automatic denial of bail even when the suspect is charged with the most serious offences. Paradoxically, Magistrates show reluctance to grant bail in complex cases especially when the police enquiry is at an embryonic stage. Therefore, as investigations are becoming...
Not much has been written on this thorny issue. I have mustered the courage to write this article which in no way targets anyone but reveals lacunae in a system perpetuated over decades, with the legal profession remaining as silent bystander. Many in the profession talk about the topic, but for the fear of getting...
On 21 September 2018, the ruling coalition came forward with its proposals, emanating from a governmental committee, for electoral reform. This again demonstrates an autocratic way of governing. On such an issue, the opposition should have been roped in but the MSM-ML government preferred to sit on its hands rather than join the drive to...
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated- Mahatma Gandhi Animal Rights are rarely talked about in Mauritius unlike in many other countries where the fight for animal rights is a relentless one always attracting a lot of attention both in the public and...
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...
The Prime Minster has been reported to have stated the following in the National Assembly recently : In the two cases of Honourable Dayal and Honourable Lutchmeenaraidoo, I asked the Commissioner of Police not to take upon himself a decision to bring anyone of them before the Court of Law and have a provisional charge....
The Prime Minster stated the following in the National Assembly : In the two cases of Honourable Dayal and Honourable Lutchmeenaraidoo, I asked the Commissioner of Police not to take upon himself a decision to bring anyone of them before the Court of Law and have a provisional charge. I asked him to have the...
