Supreme Court Of Mauritius

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Wrrite an essay of between 800-1,000 words describing the role of The Supreme Court of Mauritius.

In 1850 the Supreme Court o f Mauritius was created and vested with the same power, authority and jurisdisction as The High Court in England. It is recognised as the highest court of Justice in the hierarchy of courts and it stands above District Courts, Bail and Remand Court (BRC), the Juvenile Court, the Court of Rodrigues, the visiting Magistrates for Agalega, the Intermediate Court and the Industrial Court. Nevertheless it sits below the Privy Council. Section 15 of the Courts Act provides that the Supreme Court of Mauritius is a superior court with all powers to govern all the laws of Mauritius.It is the final court of Justice in Mauritius. …show more content…

It protects and guarantees the rights and freedom of the citizens. Any person who feels that his rights are violated or abused may apply to the Supreme Court for redress, reference is made to the Section 17(1) of the Constitution. The Supreme Court of Mauritius also intervenes in cases where the sum or matter in dispute exceeds Rs500,000. Whenever there are appeals which come from other courts which have been mentioned above, it has got full power to hear and judge their appeals. Furthermore, the Supreme Court of Mauritius deals with all matters concerning commercial issues such as insolvency ,bankruptcy or winding up of companies. The Supreme Court of Mauritius has to deal also with serious cases such as murder. Section iii (1) of the Courts Act provides exclusive jurisdiction in case for Divorce or Judicial Separation, interdiction of persons, matters of bankruptcy, any action where the civil status of a person is concerned, the right of inheritance, the rights governing marriage, the owner of property, the validity of will or …show more content…

35 of the Courts Act.
However, section 36 of the Courts Act makes provisions for the Chief Justice to allow two or more judges regarding the gravity and importance of the case to hear a case.
Offences of criminal gravity like murder are tried at the Assizes( the Supreme Court in its capacity over criminal jurisdiction) before a Presiding Judge and 9 jurors . It is relevant to note that a criminal case can be heard by only a Judge of the Supreme Court , e.g. cases of drugs trafficking..
By virtue of Section 84 of the Constitution lower courts must abide by the ruling of the Supreme Court ,e.g. Accountant-General v Baie du Cap Estates (1988)
One no less but important element of the Supreme Court, very essential for the safeguard of democracy and transparency as per Section 18 (1) makes reference to complaint and abuse of professional conduct by a minister and a law practitioner, The Supreme Court is empowered by virtue of its jurisdiction to remove them or suspend them from office.
The Supreme Court has two Divisions of Appeal : civil and criminal. The Civil Court of Appeal hears and decides appeals from the decisions of the Supreme Court. .It consists of two or three judges, as decided by the Chief Justice. When the Chief Justice is absent , he may be replaced by a Senior Puisne

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