Table of Contents

Introduction.................................................................................................................................................... 2
The Hybrid Legal System .............................................................................................................................. 3
Evolution of Mauritian Legal System during the French and British Colonial ............................................. 4
Mauritian Legal System................................................................................................................................. 6
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................... 7
References...................................................................................................................................................... 8

1
Introduction
Mauritius was discovered in 1507 by the Portuguese, then followed by the Dutch colonization
starting in 1638 and ending 1710. However, amid these times, there was no presence of any sort
of laws and legislations which were applied to the island. The history of Mauritian Law started
with the occupation of the French on the Island in 1715 till 1810. During the French colonial times
the Code Napoleon was one of the laws passed by the legislation assembly. Britain took possession
of the island in 1810 then known as Isle De France. After the British take over the island in 1810,
they wanted to preserve French law on the island
Both the French and the British colonists played an important role in shaping the Mauritian legal
system which is known as a mixed legal system or commonly called as a Hybrid legal system.
After the French surrendered to the British, it was easier to keep certain laws therefore both
principles were applied to the Mauritian legal system which consists of the French Code Napoleon
and the British Common Law. According to Article 8 of the Acte de Capitulation of 03 December
1810 it was provided “que les habitants conserveront leurs religions, lois et coutumes”. This
undertaking was subsequently re-affirmed by the Proclamation of 5 December1810, according to
which it was stated that “Les mêmes lois et les mêmes usages en vigueur jusqu’à ce jour seront
aussi observées”. The Mauritian system of law underwent a period of gradual assimilation of the
English system of law until Mauritius obtained its independence in1968.
Today we have a mixed system of law, which originated from the phenomenon known as
‘métissage juridique’, comprising of two third English law and one third French law. Hence
Mauritian Law consists of French law which are the French codes; French Civil Code, the Penal
Code, and the Code de Commerce. On the other hands we have the procedural law of Mauritius
based on the British laws; Law of evidence, the criminal procedure Act. The Mauritian constitution
follows the “Westminster model”.

2
The Hybrid legal system in Mauritius
A mixed legal system also known as a Hybrid legal system, which mean a legal system based on
two or more past laws and legislation adopted from different countries. As can be seen, mixed
legal systems can range from having elements of two to four different legal systems. In this writing,
since our focus in on Mauritius, we will focus on the mixed legal system of civil and common law.
According to Professor Palmer mixed legal systems like Mauritius, “can usually be ascribed to
historical events. Many mixed jurisdictions are former French colonies strongly influenced by the
French Code Civil. Later, these colonies fell into British hands. The British, however, normally
did not touch the already existing law, but naturally introduced their system of administration.”
Thus, the Mauritian legal system is actually a reflection of the history of Mauritius, that is the
colonization of France and Great Britain respectively. Mauritius is governed by both French law
(Civil law) and English law (Common law). These two colonial powers shaped our laws leaving
us with a unique dual set of laws and dual legal system.
As mentioned above Mauritian law originates from the French codes, also known as the “code
Napoleon”. The Civil code has been amended for years to be more practical and adapted in the
Mauritian context, then there is the Penal code which has been re enacted to become the Criminal
Code and the Code of Commerce. For example, Mauritian contract law, tort law, family law, and
law of successions have all been inspired by French legal rules and legislations.
On the other hand, the Mauritian legal system also consists of laws and legislations from the
British. Mauritius inherited its Procedural law from the British colonials. English law and laws of
other Common Law jurisdictions are part of the British contribution to the Mauritian legal
system. For example, Mauritian law on Criminal Procedure (Criminal Procedure Act 1853) and
Evidence (Part V of the Courts Act 1945) originates from the British. Public law which relates to
trade, shipping, and finance are also the results of the English colonists. The Trusts Act 2001,
Companies Act 2001, and Landlord and Tenant Act 1999 are great examples of the English written
laws, inspired by the Common Law systems.

3
Evolution of the Mauritian Legal System during the French and
British Colonial
At the time when Mauritius was under the reign of the French colonists, that is from 1715 to 1810,
the population was segregated between Whites, Slaves and Coloured. Along with this segregation,
they were also segregated in terms of the laws they had to abide by, meaning all 3 groups were
subject to different laws.
The French introduced laws such as:
• Loi & Reglements (Legislation)
• Coutume
Before the promulgation of the Code Napoleon during the period of 1804 – 1810, the Whites were
governed by the “Coutumes de Paris” and the “Ordonnances de Colbert”. The Slaves were
governed by the Code Noir a Roman inspired law meaning that slaves were considered as movable
property that is they can be either sold or seized. Lastly the coloured one known as “les affranchise”
were treated as the whites to some extent but also the code noir were applicable laws for them. For
instance, they could not be the beneficiaries of a will made by a White, they did not have the
liberty of exercising a profession such as being a barrister or a medical practitioner, or even they
were not allowed the title of “Sieur” or “Dame” in their civil status certificates but were
addressed by the title of “le nomme” ou “la nommee” that is in the way slaves were
being referred to at that time.
Furthermore, during the French revolution period 1789 – 1799 there has been a diverse change of
laws such the “Declaration des droits de l’homme et du citoyen” was adopted however these laws
was not bounded to all the 3 groups of population. It was only applied to whites and coloured.
During that time there was also a court system which were put in place known as the “conseil
provisoire” consisting of civil and criminal jurisdiction.
In 1810, Mauritius came under the dominance of its second Colonial Master- the British. Despite
the only French naval victory (during the Napoleonic Wars) of Battle of Grand Port on 19 and 20
August 1810 by a fleet commanded by Pierre Bouvet, Mauritius was captured on 3 December 1810
by the British under Commodore Josias Rowley. Their possession of the island was confirmed
four years later by the Treaty of Paris (1814). French institutions, including the Napoleonic code
of law, were maintained. The French language was at that moment still used more widely than
English.
The British administration, which began with Robert Townsend Farquhar as governor, was
followed by rapid social and economic changes. One of the most important events was the abolition
of slavery on 1 February 1835. The planters received a compensation of two million pounds
sterling for the loss of their slaves which had been imported from Africa and Madagascar during
the French occupation.

4
The British had different types of law such as:
• Common Law
• Equity Law
• Legislation
• Statute
• Local Custom
In 1850, the British set up the Supreme court to replace the French “Cour d’appel”. This has shaped
the Mauritian legal system with a drastic change from the laws previously set up by French. For
e.g in 1852 the “Code d’instruction Criminelle” was revoked and the criminal procedure ordinance
was enacted by the British. This criminal legislation was set in order to prosecute criminals for
their offences and to conduct criminal trials.
The Mauritian public law was also inspired by the British. This relates to the following laws trade
law, shipping law, banking and finance law. When the UK bankruptcy Act was set up the previous
legislation from the Code of Commerce was abolished by the British. Our Judicial review is
governed by the common law derived from the English Law. This is why up to date all several of
the Mauritian laws are written in English as it has been inspired by British. For example, the
Landlord and Tenant Act of 1999, the Trusts Act of 2001, and the Companies Act 2001, Banking
Act of 2004 are all part of the Common law in Mauritius. This is the case because of the fact that
the structure of the courts in Mauritius follows the Common Law tradition, inspired from the
British, in the Courts Act of 1945.
The constitution and the Parliament of Mauritius follows the “Westminster Model”. The
Westminster system is a pure British model for elections and for designing the way the
Government is chosen. Ever since the Island won its independence in1968, the Westminster model
has been used to conduct elections and to form the Parliament, with the National Assembly, which
is made up of 70 members, of whom 62 are directly elected in 21 constituencies.
It can thus be observed that the Mauritian legal system heavily inspires itself from the different
British laws that the English colonials implemented during their reign over the island, starting from
1810, and ending in 1968, before the independence of the island.

5
Mauritian Legal System
The modern system of law in Mauritius is an amalgamation of French civil law and common law,
while the civil and criminal proceedings are modelled based on British practice. The civil aspects
governing the Mauritian Legal System are namely; contract law, société, civil rights, property law
and the civil procedure. Supreme Court is established as the highest court of justice and lower
courts of namely, the Criminal Court of Procedure and the Civil Court of Procedure. The official
language used in the Supreme Court is English.
In the legal system of Mauritius, the Supreme Court is the highest court and is composed of the
Court of Civil Appeal and the Court of Criminal Appeal, with a chief justice, a senior judge and
17 judges. They have unlimited jurisdiction to hear and determine any civil or criminal
proceedings, and it has original jurisdiction in the interpretation of the constitution, and in the most
serious criminal cases, when it sits with judge and jury.
The Intermediate Court and District Court are both magistrates’ courts located throughout the
island with jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases. The Industrial (magistrates’) Court deals with
employment issues. Appeals from lower courts are heard in the Civil or Criminal (Supreme)
Appeal Court. The Privy Council in the UK is the final court of appeal.
We should acknowledge that the courts in Mauritius will, most of the times, make decisions based
on the English, French, and other courts’ values and doctrine to make the end result as powerful
as possible. However, it is good to note that there is no legal obligation for the
Mauritian courts to base their decisions on the English or French courts.
Mauritian courts are independent enough to follow and take decisions which contradict the two
foreign courts, if, eventually, the end result will be beneficial for the society of the island. “Thus
in Mangroo v.Dahal (1937) MR 43, the Supreme Court refused to follow the decision of the French
Court of Cassation in l'arrêt Jand'heur, considering that no Court of Justice is empowered to alter
a cleartext of law (it thus ruled that Article 1384 of the Code Napoléon does not find its application
when road accidents occur, but rather Articles 1382 or 1383 of the Code)”

6
Conclusion
The legal system of Mauritius presents all the characteristics of a mixed legal system. It must be
stressed that the legal system of Mauritius is neither civilian nor common law, although possessing
characteristics of both. The system has combined elements of its inherited traditions and in their
fusion produced a third stream of law, the Mauritian Law. Our law, which was French in the
beginning has, with the coming of English law, blended into an authentic Mauritian law. In effect,
the traditions which inform the legal system have metamorphosed and evolved to produce a
distinct juridical personality.

7
References
Anon, 2018. The Mauritian Legal System. [online]. Available
from:https://www.mauritiuscounsel.com/mauritian-legal-system/. [Accessed 09 June 2022].
GLOVER, V., 2020. THE MAURITIUS LEGAL SYSTEM. [online]. Available
from:https://www.gloverchambers.com/the-mauritius-legal-system/ [Accessed on 08 June 2022]
Koenig, E. (1900). Modes of Legislation in the British Colonies: Mauritius. Journal of the Society
of Comparative Legislation, [online] 2(3), pp.506–513. Available at:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/751997 [Accessed 10 Jun. 2022].
LawTeacher. November 2013. Sources of Law in the Republic of Mauritius. [online]. Available
from: https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/administrative-law/sources-of-law-in-republic-
of-mauritius-administrative-law-essay.php?vref=1 [Accessed 10 June 2022].
Legal Supplement to the Government Gazette of Mauritius, 2007, No.50, pp.67-71
Wikipedia Contributors (2019). History of Mauritius. [online] Wikipedia. Available at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Mauritius/ [Accessed on 10 June 2022]