MAURITIUS Law and Practice Contributed by: André Robert and Ammar Oozeer, BLC Robert & Associates
6.2 Arrangements for Obtaining Urgent Injunctive Relief When an application for an interim injunction is made, the file is allocated to a judge in chambers who exam- ines the papers to decide whether such an order should be granted pending a returnable date when the respondent can appear before the judge in chambers. The decision of whether to grant the interim order is usually given within one or two days of the application. In certain very exceptional cases (not usually con- cerning commercial cases but mainly those relating to restraint of publication in the press or those con- cerning personal liberty) an applicant’s attorney may contact the chief justice or the senior puisne judge to ask for a judge to be available outside normal hours. 6.3 Availability of Injunctive Relief on an Ex Parte Basis Injunctive relief can be obtained on an ex parte basis. 6.4 Liability for Damages for the Applicant An applicant may be held liable for damages suffered by a respondent if the injunction is later discharged. There is no reported case where an applicant has been found to be so liable. In appropriate cases, the judge in chambers has the discretion to order that an undertaking in damages be fortified by means of a cash deposit in court or a bank guarantee. 6.5 Respondent’s Worldwide Assets and Injunctive Relief A judge in chambers has the power to order a world- wide freezing order. In practice, however, judges are reluctant to issue worldwide freezing orders, and it is more common for a judge to freeze assets which are located in Mauritius. 6.6 Third Parties and Injunctive Relief It is possible for injunctive relief to be granted against third parties, such as in the case of a Norwich Phar- macal order.
6.7 Consequences of a Respondent’s Non- Compliance A respondent who fails to comply with the terms of an injunction may be held to be in contempt of court and either ordered to pay a fine or (in very exceptional cases) be sentenced to imprisonment. In court pro- ceedings, the trial judge would also have discretion not to allow the respondent to be heard until it has purged the contempt of court.
7. Trials and Hearings 7.1 Trial Proceedings
Trials in Mauritius take place in an adversarial format. Each party calls its own witnesses to give evidence and produces documents in support of its case, with counsel for the other parties being able to cross- examine those witnesses. After a party has called all its witnesses, it closes its case and when all the par- ties have closed their cases, their respective counsel make oral submissions on the facts and the law and the judge reserves judgment. In certain complex cas- es, the judge may also request that oral submissions be supplemented by written submissions. In hearings of cases entered before a judge in cham- bers or those entered by way of motion and affida- vit, the judge will consider the evidence as set out in the affidavits and submissions (written and/or oral) of counsel. There is no live examination of witnesses on the contents of their affidavits unless a motion is made to that effect, and the judge grants the motion in exceptional circumstances. 7.2 Case Management Hearings Case management is left to the discretion of the trial judge. 7.3 Jury Trials in Civil Cases There are no jury trials in civil cases in Mauritius. 7.4 Rules That Govern Admission of Evidence In civil and commercial matters, the court may be quite flexible on the admissibility of evidence, but there are certain principles to bear in mind:
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