ASSIGNMENT

BA in Communication Studies, Media and Journalism

Media Law and Ethics

PROGRAMME NAME: BA(Hons) Communication, Media and Journalism

PROGRAMME MANAGER: MR BALLAH PERMALL

MODULE NAME: Media Law and Ethics_ OUba016221_C10Y2S2_August 2020

SUBMITTED TO: Mr KAVEERAJ RAMPHUL

SUBMITTED BY: MR VIMAL COOSNA

STUDENT I.D : 201902946

SUBMITTED ON: 24 OCTOBER 2020

Discuss the jurisdiction and the composition of the
different courts in the Mauritian Legal System.

The New Supreme Court

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council

Civil Appeal Supreme Court Criminal Appeal

Master & Registrar - Bankruptcy Division - Commercial Division
Family Court Division - Mediation Division

Intermediate Court

District Court
Industrial Court - Juvenile Court - Court of Rodrigues
Bail and Remand Court - Chamber Jurisdiction
Table of Contents Page

Introduction 4

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council 4

Supreme Court 5

Court of Appeal 6

Master & Registrar 6

Bankruptcy Division 6

Commercial Division 6

Family Court Division

Mediation Division

Industrial court

Juvenile Court

Court of Rodrigues

Bail and Remand Court

Chamber Jurisdiction

Appeal and Judicial Review

Medpoint Case

Conclusion

References
Introduction
The Mauritian Legal System is often called as a hybrid system since the island was
successively a French and a British colony. When the British captured the island from
the French in 1810, certain laws like the 'Code Civil', 'Code Penal' and 'Code de
commerce' were already established. The British also influenced the Mauritian law by
the Anglo-Saxon traditions on the judiciary. Business laws, company laws and evidence
laws are all based on the Westminster model. In Mauritius the Constitution is the
supreme law and it is substantively based on the French Napoleonic Code whereas
both the civil and criminal litigations are procedures based on the British law. The
Constitution provides for an independent judiciary system based on separation of
powers with the other two organs of the state - the Legislative and the Executive.
According to the 'Courts Act' of 1945, the single-structured judicial system consists of
two parts, the supreme court which is highest in position and the subordinate courts.
The subordinate courts are mainly the Intermediate Court, the District Courts, the
Industrial Court and the Court of Rodrigues. There exist other divisions in the supreme
court as well as in the subordinate courts. The mission of the Judiciary of Mauritius is to
administer justice in Mauritius as well as in all outer islands and to maintain an
independent and competent judicial system in order to safeguard the rights and freedom
of the individual. The Chief Justice who is the head of the judiciary also makes provision
that the system commands domestic and international confidence. However, an
appellant can still seek justice to a higher court than the Supreme Court by an
application to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC)

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council was established in 1833 in London. It is a
Commonwealth Court as well as the final court of appeal for the UK overseas territories
and for former British colonies. Though Mauritius became independent in 1968 and is
now a Republic, the Constitution provided the safeguard of the fundamental rights and
freedom of the Mauritian citizens through the possibility to appeal to her Majesty in
Council through the JCPC. The Judicial Committee is empowered to hear every kind of
case; International, Constitutional, Civil or Criminal. Occasionally the JCPC is also
invited to consider an appeal in the jurisdiction where it originated. In Mauritius,
hearings are being carried out locally since 2008. Usually a panel of five judges
constitutes the board of the JCPC and their report is considered as final judgement by
the Queen in Council. However, to bring an appeal to the JCPC, permission must be
granted by the Court of Appeal in Mauritius. However, the JCPC is not subject to
reconsider any case from start but can only focus on decisions of great general public
importance or on matters relating to fundamental rights and freedom of a citizen.
An example of an appeal to the JCPC is when a newspaper journalist, Mr Dharmanand
Dhooharika in 2011 was sentenced for three-months imprisonment and a fine of Rs
300,000 by the Supreme Court after an alleged case of publishing false, gratuitous and
malicious news against members of the Judiciary. The Director of Public Prosecution
accused him for ''having publicly scandalised the Supreme Court and having brought
the administration of justice in disrepute''. Through his legal advisors, Mr Dhooharika
requested for a stay of execution and appealed to the Judiciary Committee of the Privy
Council. In 2014, the board of the JCPC overruled the judgement of the Supreme Court
considering that ''Mr Dhooharika did not get a fair trial and he was not properly
convicted to give evidence in the Supreme Court''. Therefore his three-months
imprisonment as well as the Rs 300,000 fine were set aside by the Judicial Committee
of the Privy Council.

The Supreme Court

According to section 15 of the 'Courts Act', ''the Supreme Court shall be a superior
Court of record and, in addition to any other jurisdiction conferred on it, shall have all
the powers and judicial jurisdiction necessary to administer the laws of Mauritius''.

This means that the Supreme Court has the highest judicial authority in the country and
it has unlimited jurisdiction to hear and determine any civil and criminal proceedings and
it has the same jurisdiction as the Court of England. Situated in Port Louis, the Supreme
Court is composed of the Chief Justice, the Senior Puisne Judge and 20 Puisne Judges
actually. The Chief Justice is appointed by the President of the Republic acting in
accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister. The Senior Puisne Judge is appointed
by the President of the Republic acting in accordance with the advice of the Chief
Justice. The Puisne Judges are appointed by the President of the Republic acting on
the advice of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission. The Supreme Court is vested
with all the necessary powers for equitable jurisdiction as a Court of Equity. The
Supreme Court also exercises a supervisory jurisdiction over subordinate courts
ensuring justice is duly administered by any court.

The Supreme Court has original civil jurisdiction to hear and determine :

any civil matter, although it will generally deal with matters where the value of the
subject-matter of the claim is more than Rs 2,000,000:

divorce and matrimonial cases;

company winding-up & bankruptcy proceedings;

admiralty matter; and

claims for constitutional reliefs.

The Supreme Court also convey all criminal proceedings through its Criminal Division
(Assizes), under any law other than a disciplinary law with full powers and jurisdiction
conferred upon it by the Constitution or any other law.

The Court of Appeal

According to section 9 of the Court Act, the Supreme Court hears appeals from final
judgements of lower courts including the Master& Registrar. According to Article 80 of
the Constitution, '' there shall be a Court of Civil Appeal and a Court of Criminal Appeal
for Mauritius, each of which shall be a division of the Supreme Court.'' The Judges of
the two divisions shall have powers to hear and determine appeals in matters as
conferred upon them by the Constitution or any other law. The Court of Appeal is also
responsible to grant leaves for matters appealing to the Judicial Committee of the Privy
Council. To note that appeals are to be made within 21 days after a final judgement and
the Court of Appeal shall be constituted of either 2 or 3 judges as per the decision of the
Chief Justice.

The Master & Registrar

The Master and Registrar (M&R) and the Deputy Master and Registrar are officers of
the Supreme Court having more than 5 years of experience as barristers. Their duties
concern mostly the financial administration of the Supreme Court such as (section 19 of
the Courts Act) ''taxing of costs, conducting and managing judicial sales, probate of
wills and the matters connected therewith, interdictions and local examinations, and to
deal with matters of audit, inquiry and accounts and generally all such matters that may
be referred to him by the Chief Justice or the Judges''. Both the M&R and the Deputy
M&R are qualified to become judge in the Supreme Court.

The Bankruptcy Division

The Master & Registrar together is the judge responsible for the Bankruptcy division of
the Supreme Court. Cases of insolvency, winding up of companies are referred to within
the jurisdiction of the bankruptcy division. The Master & Registrar and the Deputy
Master & Registrar shall have the same powers of a judge in Bankruptcy.

The Commercial Division

The Commercial Division of the Supreme Court is in charge of administering cases
relating to companies, disputes, trademarks, exchange, offshore businesses and patent.

The Family Court Division

Family cases are a type of civil case and they usually involves issues between or
concerning spouses, parent and children. The Family Division of the Supreme Court
has unlimited jurisdiction in dealing with matters relating to cases of divorce, child
custody and domestic abuse.

The Mediation Division

The Mediation Division of the Supreme Court was established to deal mainly with civil
and commercial cases. Mediation is only possible when both parties commonly agree to
narrow down the issues in a dispute. Under the mediation rules 2010, applications
made to the Chief Justice through the mediation division aims at reducing the time
which cases often take during trials. Mediation processes must be settled within 30 days
from first session and the mediation judge will conduct all the proceedings with all the
powers and privileges of the supreme court. Also the costs of the trials are reduced
when mediation takes place.

The Intermediate Court

According to section 80 of the Courts act, '' There shall be an intermediate Court which
shall be a court of record and which shall have civil and criminal jurisdictions. Trials are
heard before a Magistrate and in some cases before two Magistrates. When 2
Magistrates sitting for a trial have different opinions, the trial is restarted before 3
Magistrates. The jurisdiction of the Intermediate Court allows for trials of an unlimited
number of counts; also termed as charges. For money claims, the Intermediate Court
has jurisdiction for sums of more than Rs 250,000 but less than or equal Rs 2,000,000.
For criminal proceedings, ''the Intermediate Court shall have jurisdiction to try any of the
following criminal matters which the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) may refer to
it'', according to section 112 of the Courts Act. The penalties according to section 113(b)
of the Courts Act are not more than 15 years of penal servitude and not more than 10
years of imprisonment. For persistent offenders, the Court may increase the sentence
up to 20 years. Since July 2019, the Chief Justice has made provisions for the
Intermediate Court also to carry out mediations.

The District Courts

There are 10 District Courts in Mauritius and 1 District Court in Rodrigues which are
each presided by a Magistrate also known as District Magistrate. In every district there
is one District Court except in Plaine Wilhems where there are two; one in Curepipe and
one in Rose Hill. The District Court of Port Louis is composed of three divisions, one
civil and two criminal. Every District Magistrate shall have jurisdiction in every district
unless otherwise directed by the Chief Justice for special charge of a District Court or
any of its division. The District Court shall have jurisdiction in all civil cases where the
sum or matter in dispute does not exceed Rs 250,000 except for actions under the
Landlord & Tenant Act. For Criminal cases, penalties awarded by the District Court are
fines of not more than Rs 100,000 and a maximum of 5 years of imprisonment, with or
without hard labour. All District Courts have jurisdiction to hear complaints of Domestic
Violence as provided by the section of Domestic Violence Act. Sittings are public except
in circumstances such as risks causing prejudice, interests of justice, public morality,
protect privacy of persons, interests of defence, public safety and public order.

The Industrial Court

The Industrial Court established by section 3 of the Industrial Act has exclusive civil and
criminal jurisdiction to matters arising out of the enactments set out in the first schedule
in the act or of any labour laws regulation. Cases of undue laying-off of workers and
other issues relating to bad employer-employee relations are heard in the Industrial
Court. Hearings are carried out before two Magistrates appointed by the Judicial and
Legal Service Commission. A example of a case was in November 2017, when a
domestic worker was insulted and sacked by her employer without any compensation.
After 3 years of trials at the Industrial Court, the employer accepted to pay the woman a
sum of Rs 80,000 as compensation.

The Juvenile Court

When there is a case regarding a juvenile, the District Court sits as a Juvenile Court and
''in camera''. Children up to 17 years old are considered as juvenile under the Juvenile
Offenders Act 1935

The Rodrigues District Court

The Sitting Magistrate of the Rodrigues District Court has all jurisdiction of a district
magistrate in Mauritius in both Civil and Criminal matters and all the powers of the
Industrial Court. Whenever a case is referred to by the DPP, the Magistrate has all the
powers of the Intermediate Court. In divorce cases, he has all the jurisdiction of the
Master& Registrar of the Supreme Court and Judge in Chambers. Therefore he can
impose reconciliatory sitting, preliminary hearings and make provisional orders such as
payment of alimony.
The Bail and Remand Court
Whenever someone is provisionally charged for a criminal offence, he can, while in
prison, apply for bail through his/her lawyer. The Magistrate or Magistrates appointed by
the Chief justice at the Bail and Remand Court will examine the application to decide
whether the it can be granted or set aside. The bail and Remand Court is equipped to
conduct hearings through video link with prisons and in cases of sexual offences where
the witness is not physically in the presence of the accused. The Bail Court is also
connected with the Court of Rodrigues to receive evidence of witnesses through video
links. The Bail Court is opened during the weekend and is also known as the Weekend
Court.

Chamber Jurisdiction
Section 71 of the Courts Act sets out the matters which may be disposed of by the
Judge sitting in chambers.

A Judge may, whether in term or vacation, grant an injunction subject to a motion to the
court to set aside the injunction.

A Judge in chambers is empowered to hear an application for a rule of summons to

show cause (section 74 of the Courts Act).

Such matters which are heard by chamber Jurisdiction are as follows:

- Swearing of affidavits;

- Civil Status Matters - rectification of Civil Status Acts;

- Reinstatement of minor;

- Conciliator between neighbours and spouses though advice does not have force of

law;

- Arbitrator in dealing in small claims not exceeding Rs 25,000

- Divorce cases. Orders of an urgent nature

- Repossession of personal belongings

- Payment of alimony.

Appeals and Judicial Review

An appeal is a challenge to a previous legal determination. The appeal is directed
towards a legal power higher than the power making the challenged determination. A
Judicial Review is a review of the manner in which the decision was made.

For example:

Appeals from the Industrial Court go to the Supreme Court. Appeal must be made within
21 days like any other appeal to the Supreme Court. Review refers the case to a
Reviewing Authority. If the Chief Justice grants the application, a day is fixed for
hearing. The opinion of the receiving authority is transmitted to the magistrate of the
Industrial Court and becomes the judgement of the Industrial Court. However, an appeal
can be made against the judgement in the Supreme Court.

The Medpoint Case

A good example to illustrate some of the jurisdiction found in different courts of the
Mauritian Legal System is the Medpoint case. Following the purchase of Medpoint Ltd
for the sum of Rs 144,000 in 2010, the then government with Pravind Jugnauth in his
capacity as Minister of Finance, was found guilty of conflict of interest in the matter
since his sister was a shareholder of Medpoint Ltd. The Prosecution was made by the
Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) at the Intermediate Court. Pravind
Jugnauth was condemned to 12 months imprisonment which were immediately
converted to community works.

Upon an appeal to the Supreme Court, the judgement was set aside by the Chief justice
concluding that the act of reallocation of funds was merely to effect payments from his
ministry without his personal implication in the decision process. Therefore no conflict of
interest was intended by Pravind Jugnauth at that time according to the judgement.

Following the judgement of the Supreme Court, the Director of Public Prosecution
appealed to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council for clarifications upon the
judgement of the Supreme Court. The Law Lords dismissed the appeal of the DPP and
the Judgement of the Supreme Court was retained.

Conclusion
The Medpoint case involved three instances of the Judiciary System of Mauritius for
nearly 8 years. This shows how complex issues can be when cases are on trials. This
also portrays the importance of having different jurisdictions for different types of cases
in different courts. All the courts forming part of the Mauritian Legal System have an
important role to the safeguard of people's rights and to the conduct of fair trials. That is
why new laws are constantly being enacted by the Legislative and new divisions of
different courts are always being created to better service the needs of the population in
terms of legal assistance in a changing social, economic and political environment.

References:
Open University Manual

http://supremecourt.govmu.org

http://jcpc.uk

The Courts Act 1945

The Constitution of Mauritius

Press articles from Lexpress.mu