The Mauritius judicial system is a sovereign democratic organ having the responsibility and the

power to administer the justice on this island. The Constitution represents the vital element in the
democratic system’s functioning, necessary to uphold the law’s rule and affording the protection
of the citizens’ fundamental rights. The Mauritius judicial system is a single-structured one made
of the subordinate Courts and the Supreme Court.

The subordinate Courts include the industrial court, the intermediate court, the district court and
the court of Rodrigues. There are diverse divisions of the Supreme Court that exercises the
jurisdiction such as Court of Appeal, the Court of Criminal Appeal, the Court of Civil Appeal
and the Court of first instance in criminal and civil matters.

The final decision of the Mauritius judicial system belongs to the Court of Appeal, as the
Constitution provides. At a population of 1.200.000 people, the Supreme Court has 12 judges (a
number that includes the Chief Justice) and the Subordinate Court has 40 magistrates. The
Mauritius judicial system has states having the old codes of France as basics and on the recent
English law.

There is one chief justice of the Supreme Court and 6 judges serving on 10 district courts as well
as on the industrial court, the intermediate court, the court of civil appeal and on the court of the
criminal appeal. Someone can make the final appeal at the UK Privy Council. The chief justice is
nominated by the president that consults the prime minister. The associate judges are also
nominated by the president advised by the chief justice.

The other judges are nominated by the president too with the advice of the legal and judicial
service commissions. The Mauritius judicial system offers the public trials for the criminal
defendants who have the counsel right, including the court-appointed counsel. The 14 puisne
judges, the senior puisne judge and the chief judge compose the Supreme Court. The judges are
of the Court of Civil Court and of the Court of Criminal Appeal also.

The main point of the Mauritius judicial system, the Supreme Court is the country’s highest
authority in justice, having all the jurisdiction and powers to administer the island’s laws. The
Supreme Court has the unlimited jurisdiction to determine and hear any criminal and civil
proceedings, having the original jurisdiction of the England’s High Court.

It has all the authority and powers to exercise the jurisdiction as the Court of Equity. The
Supreme Court practices supervisory jurisdiction on subordinate Courts to supervise that the
justice is administered by Courts of these type.

This organ of the Mauritius judicial system has the jurisdiction of determining if the
Constitution’s provision is contravened, which includes the power of determining if the
Parliament’s law is void or it contravenes the Constitution’s provisions. The Supreme Court has
the power to secure the protective provisions’ enforcement. The judges’ retiring age is 67 and the
magistrates’ is 65.

The statutes are based mainly on old French codes and on more recent laws with English
precedents. The Supreme Court has a chief justice and six other judges who also serve on the
Court of Criminal Appeal, the Court of Civil Appeal, the Intermediate Court, the Industrial
Court, and 10 district courts. Final appeal can be made to the UK Privy Council.

The president, in consultation with the prime minister, nominates the chief justice, and then with
the advice of the chief justice also appoints the associate judges. The president nominates
other judges on the advice of the Judicial and Legal Service Commissions.

The legal system provides fair public trials for criminal defendants. Defendants have the right to
counsel, including court-appointed counsel in case of indigency.