Role of Human Rights Provisions in Upholding Democracy in Mauritius

This essay discusses the provisions of human rights and how it plays an important role in upholding the democracy of the country. It covers the legal system of Mauritius, the international conventions it has ratified, and the National Human Rights Commission. The essay concludes that human rights uphold democracy in the country.

Human rights

Contents
INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..............................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION...........................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES............................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Law can be defined as the system of rules, policies, and regulations which are aimed to
regulate the working of citizens in the society. These play an essential role in maintaining
security, fairness, and equality in society by providing several rights to the citizens and imposing
duties on them so that there is law and order are maintained. Human rights play a crucial role in
protecting the citizens as they are granted to them by being humans and they are entitled to it
since the time they have taken birth (Cyprus and et. al., 2020). This essay shall deal with the
provisions of human rights and how it plays an important role to uphold the democracy of the
country. It will also cover the extent to which this statement has application in the Mauritian
legal system.
MAIN BODY
The legal system of Mauritius is very unique as it draws the legal principles from
common as well as civil law. The legal procedure of it is drawn from the English legal system
and the substantive legislation has mainly resulted from the civil code which is based on the
French Napoleon code of the year 1804. The sources of the Mauritian law are the hybrid legal
system wherein the basic substantive content of the laws in Mauritius is derived from French
codes, penal codes, civil codes, and the code of commerce while the procedure and evidence law
are taken from the English legal system. There are different hierarchies of the legislative norms
in Mauritius which includes the Constitution. It is the supreme law of the land and any law which
is inconsistent with it shall be declared as null and void. Then is the primary legislation which is
made by the Parliament as per Section 45(1) of the Constitution. Then is subsidiary or secondary
legislation which are the regulations and rules which are enacted by the local councils, public
authorities, ministers who have the law-delated law-making power. The law in Mauritius is also
derived from the common law system which is known as judicial precedents, these are the judge-
made law and is a system wherein the decision of superior court's decision is binding for the
subordinate court and also on the court who has given the decision (El Fegiery, 2019).
Mauritius has a multiparty democracy which is governed by the Prime minister, National
assembly as well as Council of ministers. As Mauritius is a member of the United Nations and
African Union so it has ratified many of the UN human rights conventions and has also made

binding commitments at the international level to make adherence to a standard which is laid
down in the documents of universal human rights. There are different human rights which are
enjoyed by the people of Mauritius which includes firstly the respect for Integrity of person
which includes the freedom from the arbitrary deprivation of the life and some other politically
motivated or unlawful killing, disappearance, torture and some other inhuman, cruel or the
degrading treatment or the punishment. Then there is respect for the civil liberties being provided
under the law which includes freedom of expression which includes press, internet freedom,
freedom of movement, religion, to form peaceful association and assembly, and many others.
Human rights are considered as those of the rights which belong to everyone irrespective of their
race, gender, color, etc. These are considered subjective rights as it belongs to the individual and
not collectively to all (An-Na'im, 2017). These are part of the legal system and the people who
belong to it are entitled to these rights. It is a positive achievement of human history as the
international community can find the consensus in UDHR of the year 1948
To uphold democracy in the country, Mauritius has ratified many international
conventions which included the UN human rights convention, Optional protocols for the UN
Human rights conventions, International covenant on the political and civil rights, and many
others. And to make adherence to it in the country, it has enacted these in its national law so that
it can comply with its international obligations. These rights protect the citizens so that they can
enjoy their basic rights in the country.
There is a complex relationship that is present between human rights and democracy as it
shows a need for education in the democracy which can overcome the understanding of the
democracy to recognize that the will of the majority. The education relating to this is very
fundamental to implementing human rights as every individual must be aware of its rights
(Arnold, 2020).
There are different international conventions to which the government of Mauritius has
ratified which help it to uphold human rights which include the International Covenant on
political and civil rights, Universal Declaration on Human rights, optional protocols, and many
others. To uphold the principles of human rights, the Constitution of Mauritius provides that
under Section 18, an individual can redress the court in case their rights have been contravened
and it also ensures that the individuals are given the protection of the fundamental rights as well

as freedom. The Protection of the human rights Act provides for the establishment of the
National Human Rights Commission and gives power to it to enquire in the matters of violation
of the rights of the people or in case any complaint has been filed against the police officer.
In the case of Wadud v. State, the court held that the constitutional rights of the detainee
to be just informed of its rights to consult the lawyer is just absolute.
The judicial system of Mauritius is mainly inspired by the adversarial system of the
British and comprises the Supreme court, District court, and Intermediate court that has
jurisdiction of the criminal as well as civil matters. The Constitution of Mauritius is the supreme
legislation of the land and its Chapter II is named as Protection of the fundamental rights and the
freedom of individuals and these freedoms and rights are being existed as well as shall continue
to be existed in the country without any discrimination by the reason of the place of origin, race,
color, etc. but its major condition is that the respect for right as well as freedom is of others and
also for the public interest (Choudhury, 2020). Under section 17, the law provides the right to the
individuals to move to the Supreme court in case they believe that their rights entitled under
Chapter II of the Constitution have been breached. This provision renders constitutional remedy
one of the last resorts. The National HR Commission has also undertaken a view that it may also
see the enjoyment of the social, cultural, and economic rights of the people so far it is being
featured in Chapter II of the Constitution. Likewise, it can be said that the law of the land of
Mauritius, its executive bodies such as the National Human rights commission, and many other
constitutional bodies render that the right of the citizens must be provided in any case. The
human rights of the people play an important role in the upholding of the democracy of the
country and hence, this helps the people to enjoy their basic and human rights to the fullest
(Weissbrodt, 2017).

CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from this essay that human rights are rights that are provided to the
people under their being the human. These rights are enjoyed by the people of Mauritius due to
their system. The legal system of Mauritius is majorly inspired by the English system which
hierarchically comprises different courts and the Supreme court of the country mainly ensures
that the rights of the people are protected. The Constitution provides for the provision that any
individual can move to the country in case their human rights are being infringed. Moreover, the
National body is being established, namely the national Human Rights Commission is aimed to
inquire into the matters relating to the violation of human rights. Hence, like this, human rights
uphold democracy in the country.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
An-Na'im, A.A., 2017. Islam and human rights: beyond the universality debate. In International
Law and Islamic Law (pp. 399-407). Routledge.
Arnold, M., 2020. Moving between Mauritius and the World (or Not): The Functioning of a
Literary Island Production on the Postcolonial "Periphery". Journal of World Literature, 5(4),
pp.505-526.
Choudhury, B., 2020. Human Rights Provisions in International Investment Treaties and
Investor-State Contracts. Investment Protection, Human Rights, and International Arbitration,
Edward Elgar, Forthcoming.
Cyprus, A., and et. al., 2020 LIST OF CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS (TO REPORTING
STATES) BY HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE SESSIONS.
El Fegiery, M., 2019. Competing Perceptions: Traditional Values and Human Rights. In The
Organization of Islamic Cooperation and Human Rights (pp. 142-165). University of
Pennsylvania Press.
Weissbrodt, D. ed., 2017. The Development of International Human Rights Law: Volume I (Vol.
1). Routledge.