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Transcript of Annual Report Judiciary 2015
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June 2016
Republic of Mauritius
ANNUAL REPORTOF
THE JUDICIARY
2015
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ANNUAL REPORTOF
THE JUDICIARY
2015
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i
JUDGES OF THE SUPREME COURT
Year 2015
CHIEF JUSTICE
Honourable Kheshoe Parsad MATADEEN
SENIOR PUISNE JUDGE
Honourable Marc France Eddy BALANCY
PUISNE JUDGES
1. Honourable Paul LAM SHANG LEEN (retired on 04 July 2015)
2. Honourable Shaheda PEEROO
3. Honourable Ah Foon CHUI YEW CHEONG
4. Honourable Asraf Ally CAUNHYE
5. Honourable Abdurrafeek HAMUTH
6. Honourable Hima Nalini MATADEEN
7. Honourable Joseph Gérard ANGOH
8. Honourable Bibi Rehana MUNGLY-GULBUL
9. Honourable Abdul Razack HAJEE ABDOULA
10. Honourable Deviyanee BEESOONDOYAL
11. Honourable Nirmala DEVAT
12. Honourable David CHAN KAN CHEONG
13. Honourable Rita TEELOCK
14. Honourable Prithviraj FEKNA
15. Honourable J Benjamin G MARIE JOSEPH
16. Honourable Oomeshwarnath BENY MADHUB
17. Honourable Aruna Devi NARAIN
18. Honourable Mohammad Iqbal MAGHOOA
19. Honourable Gaitree JUGESSUR-MANNA
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Page
The Judiciary 1 - 8
Supreme Court 9 & 10
1.1 - All cases at the Supreme Court, 2012 - 2015 11
1.2 - Cases at the Criminal Division of the Supreme Court (Assizes), 2012 - 2015 12
1.3 - Offences disposed of by type of offence at the Criminal Division of the
Supreme Court (Assizes), 2012 - 201512
1.3a - Offences disposed of by type of offence and outcome of judgment at the
Criminal Division of the Supreme Court (Assizes), 2012 - 2015 13
1.4 - Appellate Jurisdiction at the Supreme Court, 2012 - 2015 14
1.5 - Civil cases at the Supreme Court, 2012 - 2015 15
1.6 - Divorce cases, Republic of Mauritius, 2012 - 2015 17
1.7 - Divorces/Judicial separations pronounced by number of children involved in
the marriage, Republic of Mauritius, 2012 - 201518
1.8 - Divorces pronounced by petitioning parties and grounds, Republic of
Mauritius, 2012 - 201518
1.9 - Divorces/Judicial separations pronounced by duration of marriage (years),
Republic of Mauritius, 2012 - 2015 19
1.10 - Civil cases at the Mediation Division of the Supreme Court, 2012 - 2015 20
Intermediate Court 21
2.1 - Civil and criminal cases at the Intermediate Court, 2012 - 2015 21
Industrial Court 22
3.1 - Civil and criminal cases at the Industrial Court, 2012 - 2015 22
Bail & Remand Court and Weekend Court 23
4.1 - Cases at the Bail & Remand Court (BRC), 2014 & 2015 23
5.1 - Cases at the Weekend Court, 2014 & 2015 23
District Courts 24
6.1 - Civil and criminal cases at the District Courts, 2012 - 2015 25
6.2 - Criminal cases at the District Courts, 2012 - 2015 26
6.3 - Civil cases at the District Courts, 2012 - 2015 27
6.4 - Plaint with summons (civil) cases at the District Courts, 2012 - 2015 28
HIGHLIGHTS & TABLES
C O N T E N T S
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6.5 - Small Claim Procedure at the District Courts, 2012 - 2015 28
6.6 - State debts cases at the District Courts, 2012 - 2015 29
6.7 -
Cases under the Protection from Domestic Violence Act 1997 at the
District Courts, 2012 - 2015 296.8 - Breakdown by type of Orders under the Protection from Domestic Violence
Act 1997 at the District Courts, 2014 & 201530
6.9 - Breakdown of Protection Orders under the Protection from Domestic Violence
Act 1997 at the District Courts, 2014 & 201531
6.10 - Breakdown by sex of Protection Orders under the Protection from Domestic
Violence Act 1997 at the District Courts, 201532
Cases (civil and criminal) in the Republic of Mauritius 34
7.1 - Total cases, Republic of Mauritius, 2012 - 2015 35
7.2 - Total criminal cases, Republic of Mauritius, 2012 - 2015 36
7.3 - Total civil cases, Republic of Mauritius, 2012 - 2015 37
Crime Statistics 39
8.1 - Criminal offences disposed of according to United Nations classification of
offences (broad categories), Republic of Mauritius, 2014 & 201540
8.2 - Criminal offences disposed of by courts and outcome of judgment,
Re ublic of Mauritius, 2014 & 201541
8.3 - Convicted offences according to United Nations classification of offences,
Republic of Mauritius, 2014 & 2015
43 - 47
8.4 - Convicted offences by court and according to United Nations classification of
offences (broad categories), Republic of Mauritius, 201548
8.5 - Drug offences convicted by type, Republic of Mauritius, 2012 - 2015 49
The Legal Aid Unit and Revenue and Expenditure of the Judiciary 50
9.1 - Legal aid assistance - applications received, services granted and amount paid -
Republic of Mauritius, 2012 - 201551
10.1 - Revenue collected from courts, Republic of Mauritius, 2012 - 2014 & January
to June 201551
10.2 - Expenditure of the Judiciary, Republic of Mauritius, 2012 - 2014 & Januaryto June 2015
51
Staff of the Judiciary and court rooms
11.1 - Staff of the Judiciary, Republic of Mauritius, 2014 & 2015 52
11.2 - Court rooms by type of court, Republic of Mauritius, 2012 - 2015 53
11.3 - Private legal practitioners (practicing Barristers, Attorneys and Notaries),
Republic of Mauritius, 2012 - 2015
53
Private Legal Practitioners
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1.5a - Cases lodged at the Supreme Court, 2014 & 2015 16
1.5b - Cases disposed of at the Supreme Court, 2014 & 2015 16
1.9 - Divorces/Judicial separations pronounced by duration of marriage (years),
Republic of Mauritius, 201519
District Courts
6.1a - Total cases lodged, disposed of and outstanding at the District Courts,
Republic of Mauritius, 2014 & 201533
6.1b - Civil and criminal cases disposed of by District Courts, 2014 & 2015 33
Cases (civil and criminal) in the Republic of Mauritius
7.1 - Total cases lodged, disposed of and outstanding, Republic of Mauritius,
2014 & 201538
7.2 - Total criminal cases lodged, disposed of and outstanding,
Republic of Mauritius, 2014 & 201538
7.3 - Total civil cases lodged, disposed of and outstanding, Republic of Mauritius,
2014 & 201538
Crime Statistics
8.2 - Summary of criminal offences disposed of, Republic of Mauritius, 2015 42
I - Supreme Court Library and Information Service
II - Glossary of terms
A N N E X E S
FIGURES
Supreme Court
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1.
THE JUDICIARY
1.1 INTRODUCTION
The Judiciary is one of the three pillars of our sovereign democratic State. By virtue of the
Constitution The Judiciary is vested with the power to administer justice in the Republic of
Mauritius. In line with the Constitution which makes provision for an independent Judiciary based on the concept of separation of powers, the Judiciary of Mauritius is independent of the
other two organs of the State - the Executive and the Legislature.
The independence of our Judiciary, apart from being vital for the functioning of our
democratic system of government, empowers our Courts to uphold the Rule of Law and to
act as Guardians of the Fundamental Rights entrenched in our Constitution, and to ensure and
enforce good governance. The Chief Justice is the Head of the Judiciary.
1.2 VISION & MISSION STATEMENTS OF THE JUDICIARY
Vision Statement - To develop a Justice System which is recognized as a national
and international model of excellence
Mission Statement - To maintain an impartial and efficient Justice System that
upholds the Rule of Law and that provides a modern, easy and fast access to justice to
all users
1.3 STRATEGIC DIRECTION, KEY ACTIONS AND HUMAN RESOURCE
ALLOCATION
1.3.1
Strategic direction
Upgrade all District Court premises which deal with the bulk of court cases in order to
improve services to all stakeholders.
Expedite determination of court cases with the co-operation of all major stakeholders.
Reinforce special witness schemes to provide facilities to special categories of witnesses in
Court.
Develop and implement best practices in case flow management systems in order to improve
services to all users.
Promote continuous professional development for all Court personnel at the Institute for
Judicial and Legal Studies.
1.3.2 Key Actions for 2015/2016
Set up a separate Court of Appeal Section and a separate High Court Section of the Supreme
Court to improve public perception of independence and objectivity in dispensing justice and
to streamline appeal cases.
Upgrade the digital and audio recording systems at the Supreme Court.
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Upgrade the infrastructure of the Supreme Court and the District Courts of Grand Port, Flacq
and Upper Plaines Wilhems.
Revamp the Court video conferencing system.
Revamp the Supreme Court Library.
1.3.3 Human Resource Allocation
The Judiciary has 703 funded positions for 2015/2016.
1.4 JUDICIAL SYSTEM
Mauritius has a single-structured judicial system consisting of two tiers - the Supreme Court
and subordinate courts. The Supreme Court is composed of various Divisions exercising
jurisdiction such as the Master’s Court, the Family Division, the Commercial Division, theCriminal Division, the Mediation Division, the Court of First Instance in civil and criminal
proceedings, the Appellate jurisdiction (to hear and determine civil & criminal appeals from
decisions of the subordinate courts), the Court of Civil Appeal and the Court of Criminal
Appeal (to hear and determine appeals from decisions of the Supreme Court sitting in the
exercise of its original jurisdiction in civil matters and in criminal matters). Subordinate
courts consist of the Intermediate Court, the Industrial Court, the District Courts, the Bail and
Remand Court and the Court of Rodrigues.
1.5
SUPREME COURT
The Supreme Court is composed of the Chief Justice, the Senior Puisne Judge and nineteen
Puisne Judges. It is a superior Court of Record and has unlimited jurisdiction to hear and
determine any civil and criminal proceedings. It has a similar original jurisdiction as the High
Court of England and is vested with the necessary powers and authority to exercise its
jurisdiction as a Court of Equity. The Supreme Court also exercises supervisory jurisdiction
over subordinate courts in order to ensure that justice is duly delivered by such courts. The
Supreme Court has the sole power to determine whether any provision of the Constitution
has been contravened, including the power to determine whether any law enacted by
Parliament is void on the ground that it contravenes the provisions of the Constitution.
1.5.1 Judicial Conduct, Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC)
The JLSC established under the Constitution is chaired by the Honourable Chief Justice and
is responsible for the appointment and promotion of Judicial and Legal Officers, together
with the power to exercise disciplinary control over them.
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1.5.2
Civil Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court as Court of first instance
The Supreme Court hears and determines:
i. any civil matter, although it will generally entertain and hear claims where the matter
in dispute is of a value which is more than Rs 500,000;
ii.
divorce and matrimonial proceedings;
iii.
petitions for insolvency, and all matters of a commercial nature;
iv.
admiralty matters and
v.
claims for Constitutional relief
All civil proceedings are heard and determined by a single Judge, unless otherwise provided
for under any written law, or as may be decided by the Chief Justice, having regard to the
interests at stake, or to the importance or intricacy of the questions of fact or law to be
determined.
The Supreme Court, in the exercise of its civil jurisdiction, has power and jurisdiction to hear
and determine any complaint of a disciplinary nature, brought up by any of the authorities or
bodies exercising powers of supervision over the professional conduct of law practitioners or
ministerial officers.
(a)
The Family Division of the Supreme Court
The Family Division of the Supreme Court was set up administratively in January 2008. It
exercises jurisdiction in any matter under the Divorce and Judicial Separation Act or under
any other enactment which relates to alimony, maintenance, or the custody or guardianship
of minors, other than a matter which is under an enactment within the exclusive jurisdiction
of a Magistrate. Two Puisne Judges, designated by the Chief Justice, are posted in the Family
Division.
(b) The Commercial Division of the Supreme Court
The Commercial Division of the Supreme Court was set up administratively in 2009. Two
Puisne Judges designated by the Chief Justice sit in that division. It entertains, hears and
determines matters arising under the Insolvency Act 2009 and the Companies Act, disputes
relating to banking, bills of exchange, offshore business, patents and trademarks or passing
off, disputes between traders and related matters, and generally deals with anything which is
of a commercial nature.
(c) Master’s Court
The Master’s Court is presided by the Master and Registrar and the Deputy Master &
Registrar. It exercises the jurisdiction conferred upon it by the ‘Code Civil Mauricien’ in
relation to successions and the division of immovable property, and by the Sale of
Immovable Property Act. The Master’s Court also deals with and rules upon all pre-trial
issues for civil cases lodged before the Supreme Court.
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(d) The Mediation Division
One Puisne Judge is currently in post at the Mediation Division.
The Chief Justice may upon the application of any party, refer a civil suit, action, cause or
matter pending before the Supreme Court to the Mediation Division.
The primary purpose of mediation is to dispose of civil suits, actions, causes or matters by
common agreement or to narrow down the issues in dispute.
1.5.3 The Criminal Division of the Supreme Court (Assizes)
The Supreme Court in the exercise of its criminal jurisdiction has the power to try any person
charged with having committed a crime or a misdemeanour.
Assizes and serious drug cases are heard on a daily basis at the Criminal Division of the
Supreme Court (Assizes). Criminal trials are either held before a Presiding Judge and a juryconsisting of 9 persons who are qualified to serve as jurors, or before a Presiding Judge
without a jury. Offences laid under the Criminal Code falling under the exclusive
jurisdiction of the Supreme Court are tried at the Criminal Division before a Presiding Judge
and a jury. Offences specified in the Fifth Schedule to the Criminal Procedure Act are tried
before a Presiding Judge without a jury.
In the exercise of its criminal jurisdiction, the Supreme Court is empowered to inflict penal
servitude for life in cases of murder, or where the Court is satisfied that substantial and
compelling circumstances exist which justify the imposition of a lesser sentence, a term not
exceeding 60 years.
1.5.4 Appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has full power and jurisdiction to hear and determine all appeal cases,
whether civil or criminal, from the decision of:
i. the Judge in Chambers;
ii. the Master’s Court;
iii. the Intermediate Court;
iv.
the Industrial Court;
v. the District Courts and
vi. a body established under any other enactment.
Appeals to the Supreme Court are heard before at least two judges, except as otherwise
provided for in any other enactment.
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1.5.5
Court of Civil Appeal
The Court of Civil Appeal is a Division of the Supreme Court. It hears and determines all
appeals from the decisions of the Supreme Court sitting as the Court of first instance in civil
proceedings. It is constituted of two or three Judges, as the Chief Justice may decide. Where
the Chief Justice is absent or is for any reason unable to sit on the Court of Civil Appeal, the
Senior Puisne Judge, presides over the Court of Civil Appeal.
1.5.6 Court of Criminal Appeal
The Court of Criminal Appeal is a Division of the Supreme Court. It is constituted of three
Judges and has full power to hear and determine all appeals from the decisions of the
Supreme Court sitting as the Court of first instance in criminal proceedings. The Chief
Justice and, in his absence the Senior Puisne Judge, presides over the Court of Criminal
Appeal.
1.6 THE JUDICIAL COMMITTEE OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL
The Judicial Committee is the final court of appeal of Mauritius. An appeal shall lie from
decisions of the Court of Appeal or of the Supreme Court to the Judicial Committee as of
right in the following cases:
i. final decisions in any civil or criminal proceedings and on questions relating to the
interpretation of the Constitution;
ii.
where the matter in dispute is of the value of Rs 10,000 or upwards or where the
appeal involves directly or indirectly a claim to or a question respecting property or a
right of the value of Rs 10,000 or upwards;
iii. final decisions in proceedings under section 17 of the Constitution for the
enforcement of protective provisions;
iv. with leave of the Supreme Court, 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.
1.7
SUBORDINATE COURTS
1.7.1
Intermediate Court
The Intermediate Court is established under the Courts Act and has islandwide civil and
criminal jurisdiction, including Rodrigues. It consists of two Presidents, two Vice-Presidents
and any such number of Magistrates of the Intermediate Court established under the Civil
Establishment Order.
(a) Civil Jurisdiction of the Intermediate Court
The Intermediate Court has jurisdiction in all civil cases where the claim or matter in dispute,
whether in balance of account or otherwise, does not exceed Rs 500,000. The bench of the
Intermediate Court is constituted by one or more Magistrates, as may be decided by the
President.
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(b)
Criminal Jurisdiction
The Intermediate Court has jurisdiction to hear and determine serious criminal offences
provided under specific sections of the Criminal Code and any other offence that can be tried
by the Intermediate Court under any other enactment. It has power to inflict penal servitude
on convicted offenders for a period not exceeding fifteen years and imprisonment for a
period not exceeding ten years. However, for persistent offenders, the Intermediate Courtmay increase the sentence to twenty years’ penal servitude. The Intermediate Court is also
empowered to inflict a higher sentence for offences under the Dangerous Drugs Act and the
Criminal Code.
1.7.2 Industrial Court
The Industrial Court consists of a President and a Vice-President. It is established under the
Industrial Court Act and has exclusive civil and criminal jurisdiction to try any matter arising
out of the Employment Rights Act, Employment and Training Act, Export Processing Zones
Act, Passenger Transport Industry (Buses) Retiring Benefits Act, Sugar Industry RetiringBenefits Act, Workmen’s Compensation Act and Health & Welfare legislations.
1.7.3 District Courts
There are ten District Courts on the Island of Mauritius and one in Rodrigues. District Courts
have jurisdiction to try and determine both civil and criminal cases as provided for by law.
Each District Court is presided by a District Magistrate and any such number of District
Magistrates as may be decided by the Chief Justice.
(a)
Civil Jurisdiction of the District CourtThe District Court has jurisdiction in all civil cases where the claim or matter in dispute does
not exceed Rs 50,000. Conversely, District Magistrates have exclusive jurisdiction in
landlord and tenant disputes, irrespective of the amount of the claim for non-payment of rent.
(b) Jurisdiction under the Protection from Domestic Violence Act 1997
By virtue of the Protection from Domestic Violence Act 1997, Court Officers are entrusted
with the duty of receiving and processing applications for an Order from an aggrieved spouse
and from persons living under the same roof, who may be victims of domestic violence.
District Magistrates are empowered to hear and determine such applications and to issueProtection Orders where the Court is satisfied that there is a serious risk of harm to the
applicants. District Magistrates are also empowered to receive and determine applications
for the issue of Occupation Orders and Tenancy Orders. Such orders confer upon the victims
of domestic violence the exclusive right to the use and occupation of the conjugal common
house.
(c) Small Claims Procedure
The Small Claims Procedure was introduced in 1999 to enable District Courts to adjudicate
on minor claims not exceeding Rs 25,000 in a summary and expeditious manner. Such
claims are lodged by the litigants themselves after filling in a prescribed form which is
served on the adverse parties. Both parties are convened before the Magistrate in Chambers
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to resolve the dispute. In the event that there is no agreement between the parties, the matter
is set down for trial. It is to be noted that such cases are disposed of by conflict resolution
rather than through a trial process.
(d) Criminal Jurisdiction
District Courts have power and jurisdiction to hear and determine criminal cases punishable
by a term of imprisonment not exceeding five years and a fine not exceeding Rs 100,000.
(e) Juvenile Court
District Magistrates also exercise jurisdiction as Magistrates of the Juvenile Court. The
Juvenile Court tries young persons suspected of having committed criminal offences. The
Juvenile Court also deals with children who are beyond parental control and/or who need
care and protection.
(f) Bail and Remand Court
The Bail and Remand Court (BRC) established under Part IV of the Bail Act 1999, as
subsequently amended by Act No 34 of 2011, has exclusive jurisdiction with regard to
remand or release of persons charged with an offence or arrested on reasonable suspicion of
having committed an offence. It also operates on weekends and public holidays to safeguard
the Constitutional rights of detainees.
The BRC is presided over by a District Magistrate and is located at the New Court House in
Port Louis.
(g) Court of Rodrigues
The Court of Rodrigues is administered by a full-time Magistrate and a visiting Judge of the
Supreme Court.
A visiting Magistrate also visits other smaller islands forming part of the Republic of
Mauritius whenever required.
1.8 THE INSTITUTE FOR JUDICIAL AND LEGAL STUDIES (IJLS)
The Institute for Judicial and Legal Studies promotes:
i. proficiency and ensures the maintenance of standards in the Judiciary, among Law
Practitioners/Legal Officers and Officers of the Court Cadre in order to enhance the
delivery of Court Services
ii. international exchanges and co-operation with other jurisdictions in the field of
judicial and legal studies
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1.9
THE RULES COMMITTEE
The Rules Committee was set up in August 2001 to advise and make recommendations to the
Chief Justice in respect of rules to be made under section 198 of the Courts Act. The Rules
Committee consists of a Judge (Chairperson of the Committee) appointed by the Chief
Justice, the Master and Registrar or his representative, a representative of the Bar Council, a
representative of the Law Society, a representative of the Attorney-General’s Office and twoother law practitioners appointed by the Chief Justice.
1.10 REFORM
e-judiciary
The Judiciary has, since April 2010, embarked on the development and implementation of an
electronic filing of cases and an electronic case management system.
The programme has materialized with the help of Investment Climate Facility for Africa(ICF) which provided a grant of 75% of the project costs, the balance being funded by the
Government of Mauritius. Mauritius Network Services Ltd has been awarded the contract to
develop and implement the software with the assistance of its foreign partner, Crimson Logic
of Singapore.
Phase I
Phase I of the project concerns cases lodged before the Supreme Court (Commercial & Civil
cases) and before the Judge in Chambers. The launching of the first phase on a pilot basis
took place in April 2013 at the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court. The system will
be extended to other divisions of the Supreme Court (except for the Family and the Criminal
Divisions). The e-judiciary will be implemented in these Divisions and in all subordinate
courts during phase II of the Modernization of the Judiciary programme.
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2. SUPREME COURT
2.1 All cases
The total number of cases lodged (excluding appeal cases) at the Supreme Court decreased by
1% to 9,091 in 2015 from 9,154 in 2014 (Table 1.1).
Similarly, the total number of cases disposed of (excluding appeal cases) at the Supreme
Court decreased by 9% to 9,381 in 2015 from 10,357 in 2014.
A physical count of the total number of outstanding cases (excluding appeal cases) showed
that 7,765 cases were not yet disposed of at the end of the year 2015, representing a fall of 4%
over the figure of 8,055 in 2014 (Table 1.1).
2.2 The Criminal Division of the Supreme Court (Assizes)
The number of criminal offences, convicted at the Criminal Division of the Supreme Court
(Assizes), declined by 13% to 34 in 2015 from 39 in 2014 with decreases in custodialsentences for murder, sexual offences and drug offences. However, some 13 accused were
sentenced for manslaughter in 2015 compared to 8 in 2014. The number of convictions for‘wounds and blows causing death without intention to kill but with premeditation’ went up to
7 in 2015 from 3 in 2014 (Table 1.3a).
2.3 Appellate Jurisdiction
In 2015, some 303 appeal cases (140 civil and 163 criminal) were lodged at the Supreme
Court with a decrease of 8% over the 2014 figure of 329. About 30% of the 140 civil appeals
were from lower Courts. On the contrary, most (96%) of 163 criminal appeal cases lodged
were from the lower Courts and the remaining 6 cases from the Court of Criminal Appeals.
The total number of cases disposed of at the Appellate Jurisdiction almost halved to 300 in
2015 from 555 in 2014 due to decreases of 57% in civil cases to 140 and 30% in criminal
cases to 160.
At the end of year 2015, some 542 cases (334 civil and 208 criminal) were physically
counted, up by 1% against 539 in 2014 (Table 1.4).
2.4 Family Division
The total number of divorce petitions lodged at the Family Division for the Republic ofMauritius increased by 7% to 2,556 in 2015 from 2,384 in 2014. This was due to a rise of 8%for Mauritius and a fall of 12% for Rodrigues (Table 1.6).
Conversely, the number of divorce petitions disposed of decreased by 7% to 2,606 in 2015
from 2,812 in 2014. About 83% of the 2,606 divorce cases disposed of resulted in ‘divorce
pronounced’. (Table 1.8).
In 2015, around 47% of the petitioners were females compared to 29% of males; 67% weremarried for 14 years or less; 24% of divorces were pronounced on mutual consent from both
parties and 64% had only one or no child from the marriage (Tables 1.7 to 1.9).
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A physical count of the total number of cases outstanding was 1,481 at the end of year 2015, a
drop of 3% over the 2014 figure of 1,531.
2.5 Mediation Division
The number of civil cases received at the Mediation Division of the Supreme Court dropped by 33% to 226 in 2015 from 335 in 2014. Out of 308 cases (226 received in 2015 and 82
pending at the beginning of 2015), about 60% have been referred back to court, 26% werewhere agreements between parties have been successfully recorded and 1% were purely and
simply struck out/set aside.
The number of outstanding cases at the end of 2015 fell by 52% to 39 from 82 at the same period in 2014 (Table 1.10).
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Table 1.1 - All cases at the Supreme Court, 2012 - 2015
2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014 2015
Appeal cases 943 860 765 539 370 369 329 303 453 464 555 300
Civil 520 460 481 334 184 211 180 140 244 190 327 140
Criminal 423 400 284 205 186 158 149 163 209 274 228 160
Other cases 8,202 7,884 9,258 8,055 8,883 9,248 9,154 9,091 8,015 7,874 10,357 9,381
Civil 8,190 7,853 9,223 8,019 8,849 9,216 9,115 9,056 8,000 7,846 10,319 9,345
Criminal 12 31 35 36 34 32 39 35 15 28 38 36
Total 9,145 8,744 10,023 8,594 9,253 9,617 9,483 9,394 8,468 8,338 10,912 9,681
Cases pending at the beginning
of the yearCases lodged Cases disposed of
1
1
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Table 1.2 - Cases at the Criminal Division of the Supreme Court (Assizes), 2012 - 2015
2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014 201
12 31 35 36 34 32 39 35 15 28 38 36
7 15 20 28 15 16 32 18 7 11 24 26
5 16 15 8 19 16 7 17 8 17 14 10
Table 1.3 - Offences1 disposed of by type of offence at the Criminal Division of the Supreme Court (Assize
Murder
Manslaughter
Rape
Sodomy
Importation of heroin
Importation of gandia
Other 2
Total
2Other include importation/trafficking/possession of other drugs (e.g hashish, subitex, buprenorphine, etc.)
Criminal Division
Cases pending at the beginning
of the yearCases lodged Cases disposed of
Trial by Jury
Trial without Jury
Offences 2012 2013
Trial by Jury 7 13 23
2014
- - 3
3 1 6
4 12 8
Wounds and blows causing death without
intention to kill but with premeditation- - 3
Aiding & abetting in the commission of a crime - - -
6 21 16
- - 3
Trial without Jury 10 23 17
- - 1
4 2 -
17 36 40
1A case may comprise one or more offences
1
2
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2012 2013 2014 2015
Total convictions 15 36 39 34
Imprisonment 13 36 35 32
Intentional homicide 5 13 14 17
Murder 1 1 6 4
Manslaugher 4 12 8 13
Non intentional homicide - - 3 7
Wounds and blows causing death
without intention to kill but with
premeditation
- - 3 7
Sexual offences - - 6 -
Rape - - 3 -
Sodomy - - 3 -
Drug offences 8 23 12 8
Importation of heroin 6 21 11 3
Importation of gandia - - 1 -
Other 2 2 2 - 5
Fine 2 - 4 2
Drug offences 2 - 4 2
Importation of heroin - - 4 1
Other 2 2 - - 1
2 - 1 2
Intentional homicide 2 - - 1
Murder 2 - - 1
Drug offences - - 1 -
Importation of heroin - - 1 -
Other offences - - - 1
Aiding & abetting in the commission
of a crime - - - 1
Total 17 36 40 36
Table 1.3a - Offences1 disposed of by type of offence and outcome of judgment at the
Criminal Division of the Supreme Court (Assizes), 2012 - 2015
Dismissed/Struck Out/Nolle Prosequi
1A case may comprise one or more offences
2Other include importation/trafficking/possession of other drugs (e.g hashish, subitex, buprenorphine, etc.)
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Table 1.4 - Appellate Jurisdiction at the Supreme Court, 2012 - 2015
2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014
Civil 520 460 481 334 184 211 180 140 244 190 327
Civil appeals from
lower Courts173 162 127 102 56 36 43 42 67 71 68
Appeals from
decisions of the Judge
sitting at Chambers,
Tribunals & otherauthorities, etc.
237 181 218 123 68 114 56 48 124 77 151
Court of Civil
Appeals110 117 136 109 60 61 81 50 53 42 108
Criminal 423 400 284 205 186 158 149 163 209 274 228
Criminal appeals from
lower Courts395 380 270 200 184 153 146 157 199 263 216
Court of CriminalAppeals
28 20 14 5 2 5 3 6 10 11 12
Total 943 860 765 539 370 369 329 303 453 464 555
Cases pending at the beginning
of the yearCases lodged Cases disposed of
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Table 1.5 - Civil cases at the Supreme Court, 2012 - 2015
2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014 2
Commercial Court 258 339 797 538 1,394 1,449 1,672 1,596 1,257 991 1,931 1
Chambers 45 35 147 112 641 507 843 735 629 395 878
Commercial matters 185 249 593 419 624 818 757 780 526 474 931
Bankruptcy petitions 28 55 57 7 129 124 72 81 102 122 122
Master's Court 1,051 1,389 1,515 1,488 713 690 572 589 542 564 599
Levy cases 480 745 819 776 389 425 351 345 321 351 394
Division in kind cases 571 644 696 712 324 265 221 244 221 213 205
Family Division 2,996 1,906 2,589 2,223 3,776 3,906 3,722 3,952 3,700 3,223 4,088 4
Divorce petitions 2,127 1,368 1,925 1,507 2,300 2,354 2,292 2,475 2,323 1,797 2,710 2
Motions (alimony, child
custody, etc.)485 271 372 441 620 621 574 609 587 520 505
Chambers 384 267 292 275 856 931 856 868 790 906 873
Registry (Le Greffe) 3,539 3,741 3,797 3,292 1,054 1,064 1,107 948 852 1,008 1,612 1
Plaints with summons 3,115 3,229 3,325 3,049 720 749 784 661 606 653 1,060
Motions and other applications
& Reference from Chambers424 512 472 243 334 315 323 287 246 355 552
Chambers (civil) 346 478 525 478 1,912 2,107 2,042 1,971 1,649 2,060 2,089 1
8,190 7,853 9,223 8,019 8,849 9,216 9,115 9,056 8,000 7,846 10,319 9
Cases pending at the beginning
of the yearCases lodged Cases disposed of
Total
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0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
4,000
4,500
C o m m e r c i a l
C o u r t
M a s t e r ' s C o u r t
F a m i l y D i v i s i o n
C h a m b e r s
R e g i s t r y C i v i l
R e g i s t r y C r i m i n a l
A p p e l l a t e C i v i l
A p p e l l a t e
C r i m i n a l
N u m b e r o f c a s e s
Figure 1.5a - Cases lodged at the Supreme Court, 2014 & 2015
2014
2015
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
4,000
4,500
C o m m e r c i a l
C o u r t
M a s t e r ' s C o u r t
F a m i l y D i v i s i o n
C h a m b e r s
R e g i s t r y C i v i l
R e g i s t r y
C r i m i n a l
A p p e l l a t e C i v i l
A p p e l l a t e
C r i m i n a l
N u m b e r o f c a s e s
Figure 1.5b - Cases disposed of at the Supreme Court, 2014 & 2015
2014
2015
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Table 1.6 - Divorce cases, Republic of Mauritius, 2012 - 2015
2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014 2015 201
Cases pending at the beginning of
the year 2,127 1,368 1,925 1,507 52 34 34 24 2,17
Cases lodged 2,300 2,354 2,292 2,475 104 96 92 81 2,40
Cases disposed of: 2,323 1,797 2,710 2,536 86 96 102 70 2,40
Divorce pronounced 1,929 1,494 2,175 2,097 74 90 87 64 2,00
Withdrawn/Struck out/Set aside 391 289 522 430 11 5 15 6 40
Dismissed 2 12 11 7 1 1 - -
Judicial separation 1 2 2 2 - - - -
Cases outstanding at the end of the
year 1,337 1,925 1,507 1,446 70 34 24 35 1,40
Island of Mauritius Island of Rodrigues
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2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014 2015 20
0 689 537 746 711 11 12 18 10 7
1 580 446 685 648 27 37 30 26 6
2 466 357 534 529 15 26 28 15 4
3 152 118 172 171 15 7 6 9 1
4 26 32 33 34 3 5 4 4
5 13 5 5 6 1 1 - -
6 and above 4 1 2 - 2 2 1 -
Total 1,930 1,496 2,177 2,099 74 90 87 64 2,0
2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014 2015 20
Husband petitioner 603 415 595 616 24 35 22 12 6Grounds:
Faute 341 235 352 331 12 22 18 10 35
Rupture de vie commune 27 26 21 34 4 - 1 - 3
Aux torts partagés 235 154 222 251 8 13 3 2 24
Wife petitioner 994 713 1,061 968 46 50 57 43 1,0
Grounds:
Faute 728 512 774 664 41 47 56 36 76
Rupture de vie commune 9 8 9 8 - - - -
Aux torts partagés 257 193 278 296 5 3 1 7 26
Joint petitioners
(both husband & wife)332 366 519 513 4 5 8 9 3
Ground:
Mutual consent 332 366 519 513 4 5 8 9 33
Total 1,929 1,494 2,175 2,097 74 90 87 64 2,0
Petitioning party &
grounds
Island of Mauritius Island of Rodrigues
Table 1.7 - Divorces/Judicial separations pronounced by number of children involved in the marriage, Re
2012 - 2015
No. of children involvedIsland of Mauritius Island of Rodrigues
Table 1.8 - Divorces pronounced by petitioning parties and grounds, Republic of Mauritius, 2012 - 2015
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2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014 2015 2012
Under 5 425 309 389 407 7 6 9 8 432
5 - 9 528 435 664 560 20 35 27 12 548
10 - 14 418 298 438 453 22 15 19 18 440
15 - 19 234 194 300 288 12 9 10 10 246
20 - 24 175 144 196 210 5 5 10 7 180
25 - 29 82 57 116 104 2 9 5 2 84
30 and above 68 59 74 77 6 11 7 7 74
Total 1,930 1,496 2,177 2,099 74 90 87 64 2,004
Sum of 2009
Duration ofTotal
10 yrs and 723
20 yrs and 319
less than 1 1018
Grand Tot 2060
Table 1.9 - Divorces/Judicial separations pronounced by duration of marriage (years), Republic of Maurit
Duration of
marriage (years)
Island of Mauritius Island of Rodrigues R
10 yrs and less than 20 yrs
35%
20 yrs and above
19%
less than 10 yrs
46%
Figure 1.9 - Divorces/Judicial separations pronounced by duration of marriage (yea
Republic of Mauritius, 2015
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2012 2013 2014 2015
Cases pending at the beginning of the year 109 209 119 82
Cases received during the year 582 393 335 226
No of cases where agreement has been recorded 171 172 120 81
No of cases purely and simply struck out/set aside 43 50 19 3
268 261 233 185
Cases outstanding at the end of the year 209 119 82 39
Table 1.10 - Civil cases at the Mediation Division of the Supreme Court, 2012 - 2015
No of cases referred back to court (Master & Registrar) to
be fixed
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3. INTERMEDIATE COURT
The total number of cases lodged at the Intermediate Court decreased by 5% to 3,163 in 2015
from 3,341 in 2014 resulting from drops of 8% in the number of civil cases and of 1% in thenumber of criminal cases.
Similarly, a decrease of 2% was noted in the total number of cases disposed of due to a fall of
7% in civil cases and a rise of 7% in criminal cases.
The number of cases outstanding dropped by 2% to 6,305 at the end of year 2015 from 6,422
for the same period in 2014.
Table 2.1 - Civil and criminal cases at the Intermediate Court, 2012 - 2015
Civil cases Criminal cases Total
2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014 2015
Cases
pending at the beginning of
the year
2,502 4,264 4,273 4,212 1,385 1,733 2,140 2,210 3,887 5,997 6,413 6,422
Cases lodged 2,080 1,979 2,051 1,886 1,757 1,945 1,290 1,277 3,837 3,924 3,341 3,163
Cases disposed
of1,827 1,970 2,112 1,970 1,409 1,538 1,220 1,310 3,236 3,508 3,332 3,280
Cases
outstanding at
the end of the
year
3,106 4,273 4,212 4,128 1,733 2,140 2,210 2,177 4,839 6,413 6,422 6,305
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4. INDUSTRIAL COURT
The total number of cases lodged at the Industrial Court increased by 1% to 1,231 in 2015
from 1,215 in 2014. A rise of 6% was noted in civil cases against a fall of 17% in criminalcases.
An overall decrease of 6% was registered in the number of cases disposed of with a rise of 3%
in civil cases and a drop of 30% in criminal cases.
At the end of the year 2015, a physical count of the total number of cases showed that 1,117
cases (928 civil and 189 criminal) were outstanding, a rise of 2% over the 2014 figure of1,090.
Table 3.1 - Civil and criminal cases at the Industrial Court, 2012 - 2015
Civil cases Criminal cases Total
2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014 2015
Cases pendingat the beginning
of the year
641 845 856 875 194 304 299 215 835 1,149 1,155 1,090
Cases lodged 922 939 952 1,013 259 244 263 218 1,181 1,183 1,215 1,231
Cases disposedof
803 928 933 960 199 249 347 244 1,002 1,177 1,280 1,204
Cases
outstanding atthe end of the
year
845 856 875 928 304 299 215 189 1,149 1,155 1,090 1,117
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5. BAIL & REMAND COURT
From 2014 to 2015, the number of cases lodged at the Bail and Remand Court (BRC)
increased by 6% from 3,905 to 4,148 whilst those disposed of showed a drop of 13% from
4,533 to 3,926. Compared to the end of year 2014, the number of cases outstanding at the end
of year 2015 rose by 19% to 1,384. Out of 1,754 applications received for bail hearing, 56%
were successful.
Table 4.1 - Cases at the Bail and Remand Court (BRC), 2014 & 2015
2014 2015
Cases pending at the beginning of the year 1,790 1,162
Cases lodged 3,905 4,148
Cases disposed of 4,533 3,926
Cases outstanding at the end of the year 1,162 1,384
Applications for bail hearing 2,108 1,754
Bail granted 1,113 978
6. WEEKEND COURT
The cases lodged at the Weekend Court fell by 5% to 1,319 in 2015 from 1,385 in 2014. Outof 1,319 cases lodged in 2015, there were police objection in 68% of them and detainees have
been released on parole in the remaining 32% of cases. Some 54 cases were fixed for bail
hearing with 26% being undefended and 7% being cases where bail was not granted.
Table 5.1 - Cases at the Weekend Court (WEC), 2014 & 2015
2014 2015
Cases lodged 1,385 1,319
Cases where detainees have been released on
parole475 425
Cases where there was police objection 910 894
Total cases fixed for bail hearing: Defended 28 40
Undefended 64 14
Total number of bail (after hearing): Granted 43 50
Not granted 49 4
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7. DISTRICT COURTS
In 2015, about 43% of civil and criminal cases were lodged in urban areas. From 2014 to
2015, an increase was noted in the number of these cases across all the courts except for fallsof 19% in Port Louis (Division I), 7% in the District Court of Moka and 3% in the District
Court of Upper Plaines Wilhems. Among the rural areas, the District Court of Flacq registered
the largest number of cases lodged at 14,633 in 2015 (Table 6.1). The number of criminalcases lodged increased by 8% to 121,167 in 2015 from 112,291 in 2014. However, in 2015,
drops were noted at the District Courts of Moka (-7%) and Upper Plaines Wilhems (-2%)
(Table 6.2). From 2014 to 2015, an overall decrease of 12% was felt in the total number of
civil cases lodged from 7,093 to 6,209. This drop was observed across all District Courtsexcept for that of Black River whereby a rise of 2% was noted.
From 2014 to 2015, the total number of civil and criminal cases which were disposed of
decreased marginally to 123,755. A decrease of 12% was noted in civil cases from 7,281 to6,400 and a negligible increase in criminal cases from 116,862 to 117,355. The largest
number of cases disposed of in 2015 was recorded at the Division III of Port Louis District
Court. In 2015, despite a negligible rise in the total number of criminal cases disposed of, fallswere felt at the District Courts of Riviere du Rempart (-17%), Flacq (-17%) and
Pamplemousses (-12%) (Table 6.2). A decrease in the number of civil cases disposed of was
noted at all District Courts except for those of Black River, Moka and Port Louis (Division I)
(Table 6.3).
The number of cases lodged under plaint with summons dropped by 18% to 2,920 in 2015
from 3,541 in 2014. Similarly, those disposed of for the same period decreased by 13% to
3,179 from 3,675 (Table 6.4).
From 2014 to 2015, the number of cases under the Small Claim Procedure lodged and thosedisposed of showed respective falls of 16% to 1,041 and 10% to 1,032 (Table 6.5).
The number of cases lodged for State debts for the Island of Mauritius rose by 15% to 478 in
2015 from 416 in 2014 whilst for the same period, the cases disposed of showed a fall of 28%
to 395 in 2015 (Table 6.6).
Similarly, the number of cases lodged under the Protection from Domestic Violence Act 1997decreased by 7% to 1,770 in 2015. More than half of them were lodged in the urban District
Courts and half of them came from the Lower Plaines Wilhems. Following in the same trend,
the number of cases disposed of also showed a fall of 6% to 1,794 in 2015 from 1,916 in 2014(Table 6.7).
From 2014 to 2015, the total number of applications received under the Protection from
Domestic Violence Act 1997 decreased by 6% from 1,895 to 1,774 with drops for Protection
Orders from 1,855 to 1,734, for Occupation Orders from 35 to 34 and no case for revocationin 2015. On the contrary, the applications received for tenancy increased from 4 in 2014 to 6
in 2015 (Table 6.8).
The applicants for Protection Orders among spouse/partner showed a drop of 12% to 1,387 in2015. Some 93% of them were females (Tables 6.9 & 6.10).
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Table 6.1 - Civil and criminal cases at the District Courts, 2012 - 2015
2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 201
Port Louis Division I 869 843 737 764 1,628 1,264 1,279 1,031 1,651 1,473 1,2
Port Louis Division II 3,802 3,538 2,778 2,805 9,250 12,583 9,567 10,627 7,720 13,343 9,5
Port Louis Division III 678 1,078 4,682 3,273 11,787 13,398 16,112 16,979 9,429 9,794 17,5
Pamplemousses1 2,878 2,641 3,083 2,569 12,741 18,567 12,674 12,760 12,688 18,120 13,5
Riviere du Rempart 3,553 5,490 4,131 3,160 12,360 11,785 11,473 11,991 11,654 14,762 12,4
Flacq 3,474 5,254 6,055 4,925 13,862 14,236 14,568 14,633 10,826 14,189 15,6
Moka 1,512 2,664 2,203 3,278 8,635 8,773 8,553 7,915 7,483 9,234 7,4
Lower Plaines Wilhems 1,856 2,414 3,326 1,886 14,916 15,171 10,744 14,122 14,317 14,259 12,1
Upper Plaines Wilhems 2,266 4,182 3,101 3,778 16,259 13,128 12,164 11,788 13,683 14,209 11,4
Grand Port 1,677 1,362 1,127 1,501 9,083 7,780 6,593 7,618 9,398 8,015 6,2
Savanne 1,617 1,837 2,210 1,302 7,242 6,508 5,647 5,954 6,849 6,135 6,5
Black River1 981 1,331 1,480 1,169 5,463 5,336 5,147 6,451 5,151 5,187 5,5
Rodrigues 306 572 305 510 5,244 3,941 4,863 5,507 4,897 4,208 4,6
Island of Mauritius 25,163 32,634 34,913 30,410 123,226 128,529 114,521 121,869 110,849 128,720 119,4
Republic of Mauritius 25,469 33,206 35,218 30,920 128,470 132,470 119,384 127,376 115,746 132,928 124,1
1Cases pending at the beginning of year 2015 revised in light of physical count carried out at the end of the year 2015
Cases pending at the beginning
of the yearCases lodged Cases disposed
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Table 6.2 - Criminal cases at the District Courts, 2012 - 2015
2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2
Port Louis Division II 3,802 3,538 2,778 2,805 9,250 12,583 9,567 10,627 7,720 13,343 9,
Port Louis Division III 678 1,078 4,682 3,273 11,787 13,398 16,112 16,979 9,429 9,794 17,
Pamplemousses1 2,778 2,575 2,973 2,484 12,261 18,003 12,197 12,289 12,116 17,605 13,
Riviere du Rempart 3,482 5,450 4,040 3,076 12,032 11,396 11,063 11,652 11,294 14,424 12,
Flacq 3,336 5,133 5,948 4,781 13,361 13,693 13,945 14,040 10,301 13,632 15,
Moka 1,394 2,600 2,142 3,198 8,324 8,501 8,230 7,639 7,118 8,959 7,
Lower Plaines Wilhems 1,259 1,843 2 ,831 1 ,526 13,276 13,586 9,289 12,867 12,709 12,598 10,
Upper Plaines Wilhems 1,927 2,367 2,854 3,590 13,170 11,634 10,877 10,643 12,070 11,147 10,
Grand Port 1,419 1,280 1,001 1,402 8,515 7,270 6,137 7,231 8,654 7,549 5,
Savanne 1,519 1,809 2,145 1,261 6,940 6,253 5,436 5,777 6,477 5,917 6,
Black River1 927 1,296 1,439 1,085 5,100 5,006 4,773 6,070 4,778 4,863 5,
Rodrigues 164 516 251 472 5,011 3,736 4,665 5,353 4,659 4,001 4,
Island of Mauritius 22,521 28,969 32,833 28,481 114,016 121,323 107,626 115,814 102,666 119,831 112,
Republic of Mauritius 22,685 29,485 33,084 28,953 119,027 125,059 112,291 121,167 107,325 123,832 116,
1Cases pending at the beginning of year 2015 revised in light of physical count carried out at the end of the year 2015
Cases pending at the beginning
of the yearCases lodged Cases disposed
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Table 6.3 - Civil cases1 at the District Courts, 2012 - 2015
2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 201
Port Louis Division I 869 843 737 764 1,628 1,264 1,279 1,031 1,651 1,473 1,25
Pamplemousses2 100 66 110 85 480 564 477 471 572 515 52
Riviere du Rempart 71 40 91 84 328 389 410 339 360 338 41
Flacq 138 121 107 144 501 543 623 593 525 557 58
Moka 118 64 61 80 311 272 323 276 365 275 30
Lower Plaines Wilhems 597 571 495 360 1,640 1,585 1,455 1,255 1,608 1,661 1,59
Upper Plaines Wilhems 339 1,815 247 188 3,089 1,494 1,287 1,145 1,613 3,062 1,34
Grand Port 258 82 126 99 568 510 456 387 744 466 48
Savanne 98 28 65 41 302 255 211 177 372 218 23
Black River 54 35 41 84 363 330 374 381 373 324 33
Rodrigues 142 56 54 38 233 205 198 154 238 207 21
Island of Mauritius 2,642 3,665 2,080 1,929 9,210 7,206 6,895 6,055 8,183 8,889 7,06
Republic of Mauritius 2,784 3,721 2,134 1,967 9,443 7,411 7,093 6,209 8,421 9,096 7,28
2Cases pending at the beginning of year 2015 revised in light of physical count carried out at the end of the year 2015
Cases pending at the beginning
of the yearCases lodged Cases disposed
1Civil cases comprise plaint with summons, small claims, state debts and cases against the Protection from Domestic Violence Act 1997
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Table 6.4 - Plaint with summons (civil) cases at the District Courts, 2012 - 2015
2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014 2015
Port Louis Division I 1,359 918 860 724 1,410 1,179 817 941
Pamplemousses 170 289 188 269 272 259 222 265
Riviere du Rempart 157 146 168 138 166 113 175 136
Flacq 243 303 363 201 261 298 337 213
Moka 140 91 107 109 130 107 81 130
Lower Plaines Wilhems 1,023 938 716 605 1,093 988 885 653
Upper Plaines Wilhems 616 690 507 395 615 826 538 336
Grand Port 245 216 251 112 347 212 228 145
Savanne 113 143 112 48 116 124 120 71
Black River 176 178 129 210 181 166 115 189
Rodrigues 160 128 140 109 162 131 157 100
Island of Mauritius 4,242 3,912 3,401 2,811 4,591 4,272 3,518 3,079
Republic of Mauritius 4,402 4,040 3,541 2,920 4,753 4,403 3,675 3,179
Table 6.5 - Small Claim Procedure at the District Courts, 2012 - 2015
2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014 2015
Port Louis Division I 107 115 148 76 96 85 153 85
Pamplemousses 102 87 138 80 87 60 141 92
Riviere du Rempart 80 68 96 81 95 54 96 88
Flacq 85 82 114 240 102 88 105 160
Moka 81 112 113 89 147 92 137 85
Lower Plaines Wilhems 126 127 193 106 111 146 107 193
Upper Plaines Wilhems 115 122 140 151 120 149 124 127
Grand Port 264 104 101 86 325 122 87 73
Savanne 172 73 77 63 239 60 90 55
Black River 99 68 118 69 113 73 100 73
Rodrigues 13 3 3 - 17 3 2 1
Island of Mauritius 1,231 958 1,238 1,041 1,435 929 1,140 1,031
Republic of Mauritius 1,244 961 1,241 1,041 1,452 932 1,142 1,032
Cases lodged Cases disposed of
Cases lodged Cases disposed of
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2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014 2015
Lower Plaines Wilhems 75 - - - 1 49 25 -
Upper Plaines Wilhems 2,178 493 416 378 737 1,862 464 312
Grand Port - 112 - 59 - 53 59 51
Savanne - - - 41 - - - 32
Island of Mauritius 2,253 605 416 478 738 1,964 548 395
2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014 2015
Port Louis Division I 162 231 271 231 145 209 282 244
Pamplemousses 208 188 151 122 213 196 160 112
Riviere du Rempart 91 175 146 120 99 171 146 115
Flacq 173 158 146 152 162 171 144 152
Moka 90 69 103 78 88 76 86 94
Lower Plaines Wilhems 416 520 546 544 403 478 573 575
Upper Plaines Wilhems 180 189 224 221 141 225 220 204
Grand Port 59 78 104 130 72 79 109 124
Savanne 17 39 22 25 17 34 25 25
Black River 88 84 127 102 79 85 116 104
Rodrigues 60 74 55 45 59 73 55 45
Island of Mauritius 1,484 1,731 1,840 1,725 1,419 1,724 1,861 1,749
Republic of Mauritius 1,544 1,805 1,895 1,770 1,478 1,797 1,916 1,794
Cases lodged Cases disposed of
Table 6.6 - State debts cases at the District Courts1, 2012 - 2015
Cases lodged Cases disposed of
1State debts cases not available/lodged at other District Courts
Table 6.7 - Cases under the Protection from Domestic Violence Act 1997 at the
District Courts, 2012 - 2015
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2014 2015 2014 2015 2014 2015 2014
Applications received 1,855 1,734 35 34 4 6 1
Interim Orders issued 1,772 1,603 6 6 1 1 -
Orders issued 1,025 1,061 9 9 1 1 -
Applications withdrawn/set aside/struck
out/dismissed 860 700 16 19 3 4 2
Cases where parties have been ordered to
attend counselling sessions61 19 .. .. .. .. ..
.. Not applicable
Figures for applications received/orders issued are not necessarily comparable to cases lodged/disposed of (table 6.7) due to applications made for di
more than one person in a case
Table 6.8 - Breakdown by type of Orders under the Protection from Domestic Violence Act 1997 at the D
2014 & 2015
Orders
Protection Occupation Tenancy Revoca
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2014 2015 2014 2015
Applications received 1,581 1,387 274 347
Interim Orders issued 1,522 1,286 250 317
Orders issued 893 869 132 192
Applications withdrawn/set aside/struck
out/dismissed 751 560 109 140
Cases where parties have been ordered to
attend counselling sessions59 19 2 -
Table 6.9 - Breakdown of Protection Orders under the Protection from Domestic Violence Act 1997 at the
2014 & 2015
Spouse/partnerOther persons living under
the same roof
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Male Female Total Male Female Total M
Applications received 92 1,295 1,387 101 246 347 1
Interim Orders issued 71 1,215 1,286 90 227 317 1
Orders issued 43 826 869 50 142 192
Applications withdrawn/set aside/struck
out/dismissed 54 506 560 37 103 140
Cases where parties have been ordered to
attend counselling sessions- 19 19 - - -
Table 6.10 - Breakdown by sex of Protection Orders under the Protection from Domestic Violence Act 19
District Courts, 2015
Spouse/partnerOther persons living under
the same roof
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33
20000
40000
60000
80000
100000
120000
140000
Lodged Disposed of Outstanding
N u m b e r o f c a s e s
Figure 6.1a - Total cases lodged, disposed of and outstanding at the
District Courts, Republic of Mauritius, 2014 & 2015
2014
2015
1,000
4,000
7,000
10,000
13,000
16,000
19,000
N u m b e r o f c a s e s
Figure 6.1b - Civil and criminal cases disposed of by District Courts,
2014 & 2015
2014
2015
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8. CASES (CIVIL AND CRIMINAL) IN THE REPUBLIC OF MAURITIUS
The number of cases lodged in the Republic of Mauritius increased by 6% to 141,164 in 2015
from 133,423 in 2014 with a rise of 8% for criminal cases and a drop of 6% for civil cases.
Similarly, in 2015, for the Island of Rodrigues, a rise of 15% was noted in criminal cases to
5,353 whilst a fall of 22% to 154 was noted for civil cases.
Conversely, for the same period, the total number of cases disposed of decreased slightly by 1%
resulting from a drop of 10% in civil cases to 18,815 and a marginal increase to 119,105 in
criminal cases.
At the end of year 2015, a physical count of the total number of outstanding cases was 50,270
with 35,374 for criminal and 14,896 for civil cases, a rise of 8% over the 2014 figure of 46,565
(Tables 7.1 - 7.3).
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Table 7.1 - Total cases, Republic of Mauritius, 2012 - 2015
2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014
Supreme Court 9,145 8,744 10,023 8,594 9,253 9,617 9,483 9,394 8,468 8,338 10,912
Appeal cases 943 860 765 539 370 369 329 303 453 464 555
Other cases 8,202 7,884 9,258 8,055 8,883 9,248 9,154 9,091 8,015 7,874 10,357
Intermediate Court 3,887 5,997 6,413 6,422 3,837 3,924 3,341 3,163 3,236 3,508 3,332
Industrial Court 835 1,149 1,155 1,090 1,181 1,183 1,215 1,231 1,002 1,177 1,280
District Courts1 25,163 32,634 34,913 30,410 123,226 128,529 114,521 121,869 110,849 128,720 119,485
Court of Rodrigues 306 572 305 510 5,244 3,941 4,863 5,507 4,897 4,208 4,658
Island of Mauritius 39,030 48,524 52,504 46,516 137,497 143,253 128,560 135,657 123,555 141,743 135,00
Republic of Mauritius 39,336 49,096 52,809 47,026 142,741 147,194 133,423 141,164 128,452 145,951 139,66
1
Cases pending at the beginning of year 2015 revised in light of physical count carried out at the end of the year 2015
Cases pending at the beginning
of the yearCases lodged Cases disposed o
3 5
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Table 7.2 - Total criminal cases, Republic of Mauritius, 2012 - 2015
2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014
Supreme Court 435 431 319 241 220 190 188 198 224 302 266
Appeal cases 423 400 284 205 186 158 149 163 209 274 228
Other cases 12 31 35 36 34 32 39 35 15 28 38
Intermediate Court 1,385 1,733 2,140 2,210 1,757 1,945 1,290 1,277 1,409 1,538 1,220
Industrial Court 194 304 299 215 259 244 263 218 199 249 347
District Courts1 22,521 28,969 32,833 28,481 114,016 121,323 107,626 115,814 102,666 119,831 112,418
Court of Rodrigues 164 516 251 472 5,011 3,736 4,665 5,353 4,659 4,001 4,444
Island of Mauritius 24,535 31,437 35,591 31,147 1 16,252 123,702 109,367 117,507 1 04,498 121,920 114,251
Republic of Mauritius 24,699 31,953 35,842 31,619 121,263 127,438 114,032 122,860 109,157 125,921 118,695
1
Cases pending at the beginning of year 2015 revised in light of physical count carried out at the end of the year 2015
Cases pending at the beginning
of the yearCases lodged Cases disposed of
3 6
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Table 7.3 - Total civil cases, Republic of Mauritius, 2012 - 2015
2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014 2015 2012 2013 2014
Supreme Court 8,710 8,313 9,704 8,353 9,033 9,427 9,295 9,196 8,244 8,036 10,646
Appeal cases 520 460 481 334 184 211 180 140 244 190 327
Other cases 8,190 7,853 9,223 8,019 8,849 9,216 9,115 9,056 8,000 7,846 10,319
Intermediate Court 2,502 4,264 4,273 4,212 2 ,080 1,979 2,051 1,886 1 ,827 1,970 2,112
Industrial Court 641 845 856 875 922 939 952 1,013 803 928 933
District Courts1 2,642 3,665 2,080 1,929 9,210 7,206 6,895 6,055 8,183 8,889 7,067
Court of Rodrigues 142 56 54 38 233 205 198 154 238 207 214
Island of Mauritius 14,495 17,087 16,913 15,369 21,245 19,551 19,193 18,150 19,057 19,823 20,758
Republic of Mauritius 14,637 17,143 16,967 15,407 21,478 19,756 19,391 18,304 19,295 20,030 20,972
1
Cases pending at the beginning of year 2015 revised in light of physical count carried out at the end of the year 2015
Cases pending at the beginning
of the yearCases lodged Cases disposed of
3 7
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38
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
140,000
160,000
Lodged Disposed of Outstanding
N u m b e r o f c a s e s
Figure 7.1 - Total cases lodged, disposed of and outstanding,
Republic of Mauritius, 2014 & 2015
2014
2015
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
140,000
Lodged Disposed of Outstanding
N u
m b e r o f c a s e s
Figure 7.2 - Total criminal cases lodged, disposed of and outstanding,
Republic of Mauritius, 2014 & 2015
2014
2015
14,000
15,000
16,000
17,000
18,000
19,000
20,000
21,000
22,000
Lodged Disposed of Outstanding
N u m b e r o f c a s e s
Figure 7.3 - Total civil cases lodged, disposed of and outstanding,
Republic of Mauritius, 2014 & 2015
2014
2015
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39
9. CRIME STATISTICS
9.1 Summary of criminal offences disposed of
In 82% (118,007) of the 144,290 criminal offences disposed of in 2015, the defendants were proven guilty and sentenced; while 18% of the offences were acquitted or non-adjudicated
(Figure 8.2).
The Court of Rodrigues has the highest percentage (95%) of offences proven guilty followed by
the Supreme Court (94%) and the Industrial Court (87%).
Only 3,530 (3%) of the offences proven guilty were sentenced to Custodial Orders, i.e. the
persons were detained in an institution to serve their sentences. For the majority (97%) of these
offences, the defendants were either sentenced to pay fines or to serve Community
Service/Probation Orders (Non-Custodial Orders).
Some 94% of the sentences pronounced (proven guilty) at the Supreme Court followed by 37%
at the Intermediate Court were Custodial Orders. Conversely, all the sentences pronounced at the
Industrial Court and 98% of those pronounced at the District Courts were Non-Custodial Orders.
9.2 Convicted offences
The overall convicted offences increased by 2% to 118,007 in 2015 from 115,348 in 2014
(Table 8.3). This rise is due to main increases in sexual offences (+16%), property offences
(+6%), drug offences (+4%) and road traffic contraventions (+3%).
From 2014 to 2015, the rise in convicted sexual offences was mainly due to an increase in
‘solicits/importunes another person for immoral purpose’ from 9 to 17.
Similarly, the main increase in convicted property offences was due to rises in fraud and
dishonesty (+27%) from 731 to 928 and theft (+5%) from 3,282 to 3,451.
About 76% of the criminal offences disposed of in the Republic of Mauritius in 2015 were road
traffic contraventions. In addition to the 89,917 contraventions convicted in 2015 as shown in
Table 8.3, more road traffic contraventions were paid via fixed penalty notices. These are
directly paid to cash offices and are not considered as offences lodged and disposed of at court.However, if the contravened is not agreeable to pay the fine, then a case is lodged.
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20142 2015 2014 2015 2014
2 2015
Homicide and related offences 133 139 4 1 137 140
Intentional homicide (committed) 16 20 - 1 16 21
Intentional homicide (attempted) 1 - - - 1 -
Non intentional homicide 116 119 4 - 120 119
Assault and related offences 7,035 7,354 279 185 7,314 7,539
Sexual offences 239 357 20 7 259 364
Property offences 7,972 8,755 228 149 8,200 8,904
Fraud and dishonesty 909 1,187 6 19 915 1,206
Embezzlement 321 277 1 10 322 287
Theft 3,587 3,851 167 85 3,754 3,936
Automobile theft 1 1 - - 1 1
Robbery 1,258 1,391 63 20 1,321 1,411
Burglary 365 470 17 16 382 486
Other theft 1,963 1,989 87 49 2,050 2,038
Other property offences 3,155 3,440 54 35 3,209 3,475
Drug offences 2,355 2,329 58 149 2,413 2,478
Road traffic contraventions3 93,987 97,606 4,433 4,755 98,420 102,361
Other contraventions 6,783 4,985 295 225 7,078 5,210
Other offences 14,094 17,135 157 159 14,251 17,294
Total 132,598 138,660 5,474 5,630 138,072 144,290
2Revised
3Exclude figures on fixed penalty notice
Table 8.1 - Criminal offences1 disposed of according to United Nations classification of
offences (broad categories), Republic of Mauritius, 2014 & 2015
Island of Mauritius Island of Rodrigues Republic of Mauritius
1An offence may involve one or more persons
40
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Table 8.2 - Criminal offences1 disposed of by courts and outcome of judgment, Republic of Mauritius, 2014
2014 2015 2014 2015 2014 2015 2014 2015 2014
Supreme Court 1 2 35 32 - - 4 2 -
Industrial Court 51 32 - - - - 393 216 3
Intermediate Court 1,569 1,761 1,169 1,108 - 1 1,490 984 879
District Courts: 21,103 24,488 1,893 2,307 127 82 107,525 110,291 1,830
Port Louis Div II 1,154 1,960 106 335 11 11 10,329 9,883 167
Port Louis Div III 3,795 3,795 107 187 4 7 11,947 12,990 150
Pamplemousses 588 618 194 379 7 19 15,241 14,135 248
Riviere du Rempart 2,588 3,063 49 133 3 1 10,231 9,676 112
Flacq3
2,137 2,923 117 239 6 5 14,199 12,455 233
Moka 1,306 1,626 62 115 9 2 6,989 7,761 77
Lower Plaines Wilhems 2,846 2,516 512 346 65 21 8,796 10,319 243
Upper Plaines Wilhems 1,996 2,838 91 148 3 2 9,107 9,919 163
Grand Port 812 1,433 404 108 5 2 5,529 7,438 67
Savanne 1,197 1,808 79 152 3 3 6,402 5,958 98
Black River 2,073 1,619 89 115 9 9 4,004 4,694 245
Rodrigues 611 289 83 50 2 - 4,751 5,063 27
Island of Mauritius 22,113 25,994 3,014 3,397 125 83 104,661 106,430 2,685
Republic of Mauritius 22,724 26,283 3,097 3,447 127 83 109,412 111,493 2,712
ImprisonmentRYC, CYC & other
institutionsFine
Probation, Comm
Service, Conditi
Absolute Disch
1An offence may involve one or more persons
2Acquitted means dismissed and non-adjudicated means struck out and Nolle Prosequi
3Revised (data for year 2014)
Acquitted & non-
adjudicated2
Convictions by penalty imposed
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Figure 8.2 - Summary of criminal offences disposed of, Republic of Mauritius, 201
1 An offence may involve one or more persons2 Acquitted means dismissed and non-adjudicated means struck out & Nolle Prosequi3 Custodial Orders comprise imprisonment and detention in Rehabilitation & Correctional Youth Centres
4 2
District Courts
(Island of
Mauritius)
133,599
(93%)
Criminal offences1
disposed of
144,290
(100%)
Intermediate Court
4,775
(3%)
Industrial Court
250
(negligible)
Supreme Court
(exclude appeal cases)
36
(negligible)
Acquitted &
non-
adjudicated2
2
(6%)
Proven
guilty
34
(94%)
Acquitted &
non-
adjudicated2
32
(13%)
Proven
guilty
218
(87%)
Acquitted &
non-
adjudicated2
1,761
(37%)
Proven
guilty
3,014
(63%)
Acquitted &
non-
adjudicated2
24,199
(18%)
Proven
guilty
109,400
(82%)
CustodialOrders3
32
(94%)
Non -Custodial
Orders
2(6%)
CustodialOrders3
Nil
Non -Custodial
Orders
218
(100%)
CustodialOrders3
1,109
(37%)
Non -Custodial
Orders
1,905
(63%)
CustodialOrders3
2,339
(2%)
Cu
O
10
(
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2014 2015 20142 2015 2014
2 2015 20142 2015 2014
Homicide and related offences 46 41 - - 60 32 - - 1
Intentional homicide (committed) 14 17 - - - - - - -
Murder 6 4 - - - - - - -
Manslaughter 8 13 - - - - - - -
Abortion - - - - - - - - -
Intentional homicide (attempted) 1 - - - - - - - -
Attempted murder 1 - - - - - - - -
Non intentional homicide 31 24 - - 60 32 - - 1
Wounds and blows causing death without
intention to kill30 22 - - 1 - - - -
Involuntary homicide 1 2 - - 59 32 - - 1
Assault and related offences3 74 94 3 - 2,750 2,615 95 69 25
Assault causing loss of eye and limbs - - - - - - - - -
Simple assaults/wounds & blows 40 48 3 - 2,543 2,387 88 66 12
Assault causing sickness or incapacity for personal labour for > 20 days
9 7 - - 53 20 3 - 10
Assault against an agent of Civil Authority 15 15 - - 138 183 1 1 1
Assault with corrosive substance - 8 - - 2 3 - - -
Assault with premeditation 10 16 - - 14 22 3 2 2
Table 8.3 - Convicted offences1 according to United Nations classification of offences, Republic of Ma
OffencesImprisonment
RYC, CYC &
other
Institutions
Fine ProbationCommu
Servi
4 3
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2014 2015 20142 2015 2014
2 2015 20142 2015 2014 201
Sexual offences 51 48 - 3 19 32 4 7 20 20
Rape 9 2 - - - - - - - -
Sodomy 9 3 - - - - - 2 1
Attempt upon chastity 19 4 - 3 - 3 4 - 4
Sexual intercourse with minor under 16; with
handicapped person; with specified person11 14 - - 2 2 - 1 12 2
Solicits/importunes another person for
immoral purpose1 - - - 5 17 - - 1 -
Sexual offences other 2 2 - - 12 6 - 4 2
Child Protection Act (CPA) -
Causing child to be sexually abused;accessing to a brothel; and engaging in
prostitution
* 23 * - * 4 * - *
Property offences 1,545 1,926 25 33 2,014 1,921 181 164 239 366
Fraud and dishonesty 162 310 - 1 390 325 11 14 47 104
Forgery 47 46 - - 117 94 - - 33 5
Swindling 47 170 - - 33 23 1 - 3 12
Making use of forged document 2 7 - - 19 16 - - 2
Swearing false affidavit 3 - - - 2 3 - - - -
Impersonation - - - - 3 1 - - - -Counterfeiting bank notes/ possession/
uttering of counterfeit bank notes3 21 - - 4 9 - - -
Forgery of passport/making use of forged
passport1 5 - - 11 3 - - - -
Extortion - 1 - - - - - - - -
Table 8.3 (cont'd) - Convicted offences1 according to United Nations classification of offences, Republic of Ma
OffencesImprisonment
RYC, CYC &
other InstitutionsFine Probation
Community
Service
4
4
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2014 2015 20142 2015 2014
2 2015 20142 2015 2014
Giving false evidence - 1 - - 6 6 - - -
Issuing cheque without provision 28 40 - - 146 123 8 11 3
Demanding money or property by threat of
false accusation4 6 - 1 1 4 - - 2
Usurping public function 3 3 - - 3 - - - -
Fraud and dishonesty other 22 7 - - 45 43 2 3 4
-
Bribery by Public Official - - - - - - - - -
Bribery of Public Official 1 3 - - - - - - -
Other offences under POCA 1 - - - - - - - -
Embezzlement 45 26 - - 70 68 5 5 34
Theft 1,228 1,490 24 30 816 846 146 99 132
Automobile theft - - - - 1 1 - - -
Robbery 478 586 11 15 116 153 61 25 60
Larceny armed with offensive weapon 34 36 - 1 3 12 - - 1
Larceny with violence by night breaking
8 8 - - 1 3 - - 1
Larceny with aggravating
circumstances/violence (including
upon minors/handicapped persons,
etc.)
59 108 2 4 18 18 6 4 4
Larceny by two or more individuals 328 373 8 7 87 112 47 19 53
Larceny on public road 49 61 1 3 7 8 8 2 1
Offences under Prevention of Corruption Act (POCA)
Table 8.3 (cont'd) - Convicted offences1 according to United Nations classification of offences, Repu
OffencesImprisonment
RYC, CYC &
other
Institutions
Fine ProbationCom
Ser
4 5
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2014 2015 20142 2015 2014
2 2015 20142 2015 2014 2
Burglary 210 269 11 4 27 48 10 9 18
Larceny by night breaking 86 113 7 - 7 8 2 2 4
Larceny (day) breaking 20 33 - 4 4 3 - 2 2
Larceny scaling 104 123 4 - 16 37 8 5 12
Other theft (excluding automobile theft) 540 635 2 11 672 644 75 65 54
Larceny by servant or any person in
receipt of wages 20 39 - - 28 41 36 17 16
Other simple larcenies 459 527 1 7 617 572 34 41 34
Attempt at larceny 61 69 1 4 27 31 5 7 4
Other property offences 110 100 1 2 738 682 19 46 26
Damages to property 20 5 - - 483 466 5 10 4
Receiving and possession of stolen
property90 93 1 2 254 215 14 36 22
Arson - 2 - - 1 1 - - -
Table 8.3 (cont'd) - Convicted offences1 according to United Nations classification of offences, Republic
OffencesImprisonment
RYC, CYC &
other
Institutions
Fine ProbationCommun
Service
4 6
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2014 2015 20142 2015 2014
2 2015 20142 2015 2014
Drug offences 194 193 - - 2,041 2,131 2 3 7
Road traffic contraventions4 96 148 - - 87,522 89,652 - 6 91
Other contraventions 8 16 - - 5,500 3,453 8 74 3
Other offences 1,083 981 99 47 9,506 11,657 32 35 102
of which offences under:
Environment Protection Act 1 1 - - 601 774 - - -
Food Act & Public Health Act - - - - 681 1,511 - - -
Local Government Act 1 - - - 853 1,398 - - 10
Protection from Domestic Violence Act 44 39 - - 250 291 4 1 3
Total 3,097 3,447 127 83 109,412 111,493 322 358 488
1An offence may involve one or more persons
2
Revised 3'Assault causing effusion of blood' reclassified under 'assault against an agent of Civil Authority'
4Exclude figures on fixed penalty notice
*Not collected separately
Table 8.3 (cont'd) - Convicted offences1 according to United Nations classification of offences, Republi
OffencesImprisonment
RYC, CYC &
other
institutions
Fine ProbationComm
Servi
4 7
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Offences
Div II Div III
Homicide and related
offences4 1 - 1 2 1 6 - - - -
Intentional homicide(committed)
- - - - - - - - - -
Non intentional homicide 1 - 1 2 1 6 - - - -
Assault and related offences 291 177 377 368 387 194 275 251 238 149
Sexual offences 6 4 1 4 5 - 7 10 6 2
Property offences 379 379 686 364 372 260 198 546 378 182
Fraud and dishonesty 40 51 57 37 35 15 5 32 58 15
Embezzlement 6 9 22 17 8 7 9 23 13 4
Theft 262 243 447 218 237 186 126 405 238 120
Automobile theft - - - - 1 - - - - -
Robbery 84 92 158 74 75 47 37 104 71 24
Burglary 23 14 70 22 23 27 7 53 22 13
Other theft 155 137 219 122 138 112 82 248 145 83
Other property offences 71 76 160 92 92 52 58 86 69 43
Drug offences 496 137 144 51 62 135 51 224 235 49
Road traffic contraventions5 7,464 10,420 12,757 8,266 9,296 6,346 4,694 8,046 7,353 6,706
Other contraventions 221 218 90 280 1,011 160 415 367 166 248
Other offences 1,560 1,961 768 691 1,827 533 568 1,446 1,811 644
Total 10,418 13,296 14,824 10,026 12,961 7,634 6,208 10,890 10,187 7,980
2SC stands for Supreme Court
Table 8.4 - Convicted offences1 by court and according to United Nations classification of offenc
Republic of Mauritius, 2015
Port Louis Pample-
mousses
Riv. du
RempartFlacq
Grand
PortSavanne
Rose-
HillCurepipe Moka
1An offence may involve one or more persons
4 No case for intentional homicide (attempted) in 2015 5Exclude figures on fixed penalty notice
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Drug offences 2012 2013 20141 2015
Heroin 284 401 303 486
Importation 11 27 15 6
Dealing 3 12 40 15
Possession (heroin & articles) 270 256 207 407
Consumption * 106 29 50
Other * * 12 8
Gandia 510 778 1,004 1,129
Importation 2 - 7 22
Cultivation 14 78 91 129
Dealing 2 2 25 87
Possession (gandia & articles) 492 567 678 656
Consumption * 131 182 187
Other * * 21 48
Other drugs 1,600 1,243 957 748
Importation 1 22 7 6
Dealing 33 17 267 114
Possession (drugs & articles) 728 654 414 452
Consumption 410 178 121 68
Other 428 372 148 108
Total 2,394 2,422 2,264 2,363
1Revised
*Not collected separately
Table 8.5 - Drug offences convicted by type, Republic of Mauritius, 2012 - 2015
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50
10. THE LEGAL AID UNIT
During the year 2015, for the Republic of Mauritius, some 3,184 applications for legal assistance
were received, of which 3,132 were for civil cases. The number of legal aid recipients at the
Supreme Court decreased by nearly 24% to 1,890 in 2015 from 2,472 in 2014. There were 1,715recipients in 2015 with respect to matrimonial cases, 123 for other civil suits and 52 for criminalcases (Table 9.1).
Nearly Rs 1,2 Million were spent for the year 2015 with respect to legal aid in the Republic ofMauritius compared to the 2014 figure of Rs 1,1 Million.
11.
REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE OF THE JUDICIARY
For the first semester of 2015, the revenue collected (at the various courts of the Island of
Mauritius and Island of Rodrigues) stood at around Rs 116 Million (provisional) (Table 10.1).
For the same period, the expenditure of the Judiciary for the Republic of Mauritius was estimated
at around Rs 246 Million (provisional) with 96% for actual recurrent expenditure (Rs 235Million) and the rest (4%) for capital expenditure (Rs 11 Million).
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2012 2013 2014 2015
Civil
Received 4,788 6,317 3,498 3,132
of which matrimonial 4,707 6,024 3,175 2,985
Granted 1,985 2,279 2,430 1,838
of which matrimonial 1,879 2,140 2,272 1,715
Criminal1
Received & granted 21 19 42 52
985,995 1,589,687 1,144,375 1,179,968
2012 2013 2014January to June
2015
Fines 255,553,758 277,466,327 294,655,628 93,039,442
Other 2 53,630,312 50,357,032 46,167,681 23,008,493
Total 309,184,070 327,823,359 340,823,309 116,047,935
2012 2013 2014January to June
2015
Capital1 1,007,046 30,719,139 26,897,557 10,982,033
Recurrent 345,068,522 424,662,702 459,169,282 234,519,674
Total 346,075,568 455,381,841 486,066,839 245,501,707
Source: The Judiciary & Central Administration, Rodrigues (Finance Unit) and Court of Rodrigues
2Other includes court, ushers and other miscellaneous fees
Table 9.1 - Legal aid assistance - applications received, services granted and amount paid -
Republic of Mauritius, 2012 - 2015
Amount paid (Rupees)
Table 10.1 - Revenue collected from courts, Republic of Mauritius,
2012 - 2014 & January to June 2015
Table 10.2 - Expenditure of the Judiciary, Republic of Mauritius, 2012 - 2014 &
January to June 2015
1Refers to Island of Mauritius
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Male Female Total Male Female Total
Chief Justice 1 - 1 1 - 1
Senior Puisne Judge 1 - 1 1 - 1
Puisne Judge 11 8 19 9 9 18
Judge in Bankruptcy & Master and Registrar 1 - 1 1 - 1
Deputy Master and Registrar & Judge in Bankruptcy - 1 1 - 1 1
President, Intermediate Court (Civil & Criminal sides)