MAURITIUS Law and Practice Contributed by: André Robert and Mushtaq Namdarkhan, BLC Robert & Associates
3.7 Representative or Collective Actions Class actions are not permitted in Mauritius. All persons who seek a remedy from the court need to be individually named as parties, although they may select one of them to be the repre- sentative of the others during the case (eg, for the purpose of attendance in court and/or giving evidence). 3.8 Requirements for Cost Estimate There is no requirement to provide clients with a cost estimate at the outset. The obligation of law practitioners is to charge, as a matter of ethics, what is fair and reasonable, and the fee arrange- ment must be fully disclosed to the client. It is possible, before a trial or substantive hear- ing of a claim, for a party to apply to a judge in chambers to obtain interim relief pending the determination of the main case. Such reliefs are not limited to case management issues and are generally granted to preserve a status quo ante and, in cases where injunctive relief is sought, damages will not be an adequate remedy. It is also possible, before the case is ready to be heard on its substantive merits (ie, before it is “in shape”), to obtain procedural directions (either at a hearing or by way of court circular) either from the trial judge (in cases before the commercial or family divisions of the Supreme Court), the trial magistrate (in cases before the district courts or intermediate court), the master and registrar (in cases before other divisions of the Supreme Court) and the chief justice (in cases entered by way of motion). 4. Pre-trial Proceedings 4.1 Interim Applications/Motions
A trial judge also has discretion to order case management directions ahead of or during a trial. 4.2 Early Judgment Applications Procedures and Legal Standards The courts do not deliver early judgment on some of the issues, preferring to deal with all the issues in one go. The court may allow certain points of law to be raised at the outset (in limine litis) which can be heard and determined without evidence (ie, on the face of the plaint or other originating docu- ment) or after production of a limited amount of evidence. The defendant must, generally, at the time of filing the plea in limine, also file a plea on the substantive merits of the case and the trial judge/magistrate may then hold a hearing to hear arguments on the plea in limine. Objections as to the jurisdiction of the court must be taken before any defence on the merits is advanced and it is permissible for a defendant to raise such an objection even without putting in a defence on the merits. The court proceeds to hear the objection on the jurisdiction and a limited amount of evidence may be adduced (usually, it is the contract which contains an arbi- tration agreement or a choice of court clause). Similarly, applications for security for costs are dealt with in limine. 4.3 Dispositive Motions Dispositive motions that are commonly made are the following: • that the subject matter of a plaint is time- barred; • that an appeal has been lodged and/or served outside delay;
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