MAURITIUS Law and Practice Contributed by: André Robert and Mushtaq Namdarkhan, BLC Robert & Associates
7.6 Extent to Which Hearings Are Open to the Public Access to hearings is allowed to members of the public, and transcripts and minutes of the pro- ceedings can be consulted at the registry of the court dealing with the case. Records and min- utes of cases before judges in chambers are not available to the public, while records and tran- scripts of cases before the commercial division are not easily accessible without justification. 7.7 Level of Intervention by a Judge The judge acts as an arbiter to ensure that rules of evidence and procedure are being followed and that neither counsel embarks on irrelevant lines of questioning. A judge may sometimes ask clarification questions of a witness but would be cautious about the extent of doing so in order to avoid a later argument that a party has not had a fair hearing. After hearing the evidence and considering sub- missions of counsel, the judge would typically reserve judgment. In straightforward matters, the judge may deliver a ruling from the bench. It is not the usual practice of Mauritian courts for the judge to give a ruling on the bench and provide reasons at a later date. 7.8 General Timeframes for Proceedings The typical duration of trials in commercial dis- putes is one to two years from commencement.
given that the occupation existed under a lease; and • the Courts Act, in Sections 181 to 181E, makes provision (subject to conditions) for the admissibility of the following items: (a) copies or print made from microfilms; (b) out-of-court statements; (c) documents being or forming part of re- cords compiled by a person acting under a duty; and (d) statements produced by computers. Regarding contractual obligations (in non-com- mercial cases) worth more than MUR5,000, if no written obligation exists, the party seeking to prove such obligation may adduce other forms of written evidence as “beginnings of proof in writing” from which one could reasonably infer the existence of the obligation. In cases where even beginnings of proof are not available, a par- ty may call the other party or a representative of the other party to examine the latter on personal answers; the answers are recorded by the court and any admission in the record can be used as proof of the existence of an obligation. In relation to an out-of-court statement where a document is or forms part of a compiled record or statement produced by a computer, the obli- gation may be proved by the production of that document or by the production of a copy there- of, or a material part thereof, authenticated in such a manner as the court deems fit. 7.5 Expert Testimony On issues which require expert evidence, each party will call its own expert witnesses. The report of each expert witness is typically ten- dered before the trial. The court will not itself seek expert testimony. It is open to the parties to agree to file joint expert reports in the pro- ceedings.
8. Settlement 8.1 Court Approval
Court approval is not required to settle a lawsuit. Parties often choose that the settlement agree- ment they have reached be read out in court and made a judgment of the court. Such agreements
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