MAURITIUS Law and Practice Contributed by: André Robert and Mushtaq Namdarkhan, BLC Robert & Associates
are usually read by counsel in court and the par- ties present in court ratify it. If the parties are not present, judges and magistrates may allow counsel or attorneys to inform the court that an agreement has been reached and the agreement is recorded without the parties formally ratifying it. The agreement then has the same effect as a judgment, with the consequences that: • any breach of the agreement would be a con- tempt of court; and • if there is a breach of the agreement, the innocent party can proceed directly to execu- tion of the agreement against the assets of the defaulting party without needing to initiate fresh proceedings for breach of contract. There is also a mediation division of the Supreme Court where any agreement reached between the parties must be set down in writing and signed by the parties and the mediation judge for it to be valid. 8.2 Settlement of Lawsuits and Confidentiality The parties can elect that the agreement remain confidential and agreements reached before a mediation judge are confidential. A carve-out from the confidentiality obligation is usually included and exists to allow disclosure to a trial court which may have to deal with a breach of agreement or a contempt-of-court complaint. 8.3 Enforcement of Settlement Agreements If a settlement agreement is not made a judg- ment of the court, the innocent party would need to initiate a fresh action against the defaulting party for breach of contract. If the settlement agreement has been made a judgment of the court, it can be enforced using
the usual execution methods against the assets of the judgment debtor and/or the judgment creditor may initiate contempt-of-court proceed- ings against the judgment debtor. 8.4 Setting Aside Settlement Agreements Being a contract, the settlement agreement can be set aside on the same grounds as any other contract, namely: • physical or economic duress; • intentional misrepresentation (which may include intentional concealment of material acts); or • mistake. A party may then initiate court action within five years to set aside the agreement. In cases of duress, the five-year time limit begins when the duress has ceased, and in cases of misrepre- sentation it begins when the misrepresentation became known. If the settlement agreement is reached by way of a “transaction” under the Civil Code, there are special provisions for such agreements to be set aside. 9. Damages and Judgment 9.1 Awards Available to the Successful Litigant The awards or remedies that are usually avail- able to a successful litigant are as follows: • payment of a sum of money or damages; • interest on the judgment debt; • declarations of the existence of certain facts;
• prohibitory injunctions; • mandatory injunctions; • specific performance; and
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