The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council originated as the highest court of criminal and civil appeal for the British Empire. It now fulfills the same purpose for many Commonwealth countries, as well as the United Kingdom’s overseas territories, crown dependencies, and military sovereign base areas.
When Mauritius became a British Colony in 1810, it was proclaimed that any individual or legal entity being a party to a case of which the judgment delivered was not to their satisfaction could appeal to His Majesty's Council provided that the subject matter of the dispute exceeded a claim value of 4000 piastres. After Mauritius became Independent on the 12th March 1968 and on its becoming a Republic on the 12th March 1992, Mauritius deemed it fit to maintain the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as its highest court of appeal.
Appeals to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council may be as of right or with the leave (permission) of the Mauritian Court. However if the Mauritian Court does not grant leave, the litigant still has the option to apply directly to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council for "special leave".
When a litigant in Mauritius should have recourse to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council?
According to Section 70A of the Courts Act 1945 it is provided that, "an appeal shall lie from final decisions of the Court of Appeal or of the Supreme Court to the Judicial Committee in criminal cases where, in the opinion of the Court, the question involved in the appeal is one that, by reason of its great general public importance or otherwise, ought to be submitted to the Judicial Committee".
Furthermore Section 81 of the Constitution of Mauritius also provides that:-
(1) An appeal shall lie from decision of the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court to the Judicial Committee as of right in the following cases:-
- final decisions, in any civil or criminal procedures, on question as to the interpretation of the Constitution;
- where the matter in dispute on the appeal to the Judicial Committee is of the value of 10,000 rupees or upward or where the appeal involves, directly or indirectly, a claim to or a question respecting property or a right of the value of 10,000 rupees or upwards, final decisions in any civil proceedings;
- final decisions in proceedings under section 17 of the Constitution (Enforcement of Protective Provisions) ; and
- in such other cases as may be prescribed by Parliament.
(2)An appeal shall lie from decision of the Court of Appeal or of the Supreme Court to the Judicial Committee with the leave of the Court in the following cases:-
- where in the opinion of the Court the question involved in the appeal is one that, by reason of its great general or public importance or otherwise, ought to be submitted to the Judicial Committee, final decisions in any civil proceedings; and
- in such other cases as may be prescribed by Parliament.
If you want to learn more about the history of the Privy Council then please click here.
***This article serves as an basic introduction of the role of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in Mauritius.
Recommended Additional Reading:-
1. Website of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council;
2.The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council 1833-1876: Its Origins, Structure and Development (Cambridge Studies in English Legal History).