Law Reform Commission Act

Jurisdiction
Mauritius
Citation
Act 26 of 2005
Date
30 June 2017
Language
English
Type
Legislation
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Mauritius

Law Reform Commission Act

Act 26 of 2005

  • Commenced on 10 January 2006
  • [This is the version of this document at 30 June 2017.]

1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the Law Reform Commission Act.

2. Interpretation

In this Act—"Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Commission appointed under section 7;"Commission" means the Law Reform Commission established under section 3;"member" means a member of the Commission and includes the Chairperson.

3. Establishment of Commission

(1)There is established for the purposes of this Act the Law Reform Commission.
(2)The Commission shall be a body corporate.

4. Functions of Commission

(1)The functions of the Commission shall be to­—
(a)keep under review in a systematic way the law of Mauritius;
(b)make recommendations for the reform and development of the law of Mauritius;
(c)advise the Attorney-General on ways in which the law of Mauritius can be made as understandable and accessible as is practicable.
(2)When making its recommendations, the Commission shall, where applicable and as far as practicable, attach a draft bill to the recommendations.
(3)The Commission shall prepare and submit to the Attorney-General, at least once a year, a programme for the review of specified aspects of the law of Mauritius with a view to their reform or development.

5. Powers of Commission

(1)The Commission shall have such powers as are reasonably necessary or expedient to enable it to carry out its functions.
(2)Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), the Commission shall have the power to­—
(a)initiate proposals for the review, reform or development of any aspect of the law of Mauritius and to receive and consider any such proposal made or referred to it by the Attorney-General or any other person;
(b)initiate, sponsor and carry out such studies and research as it thinks expedient for the proper discharge of its functions;
(c)publicise such parts of its work in such manner as it thinks expe­dient, conduct public hearings, seek comments from the public on its proposals, and consult any person or class of persons;
(d)request information from any Government Department, any or­ganisation or person in relation to the review, reform or develop­ment of any aspect of the law of Mauritius.

6. Request by Attorney-General

(1)The Attorney-General may, at any time, request the Commission to examine any aspect of the law of Mauritius, and the Commission shall review that aspect of the law accordingly and report to the Attorney-General thereon with its recommendations.
(2)The Commission shall report to the Attorney-General on the results of any review it carries out and shall include in the report such recommendation as it deems necessary.

7. Membership of Commission

(1)The Commission shall consist of—
(a)a Chairperson, who shall be appointed by the Attorney-General;
(b)a representative of the Judiciary appointed by the Chief Justice;
(c)the Solicitor-General or his representative;
(ca)the Director of Public Prosecutions or his representative;
(d)a barrister, who shall be appointed by the Attorney-General after consultation with the Mauritius Bar Council;
(e)an attorney, who shall be appointed by the Attorney-General af­ter consultation with the Mauritius Law Society Council;
(f)a notary, who shall be appointed by the Attorney-General after consultation with the Chambre des Notaires;
(g)a full-time member of the Department of Law of the University of Mauritius, who shall be appointed by the Attorney-General af­ter consultation with the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Mauritius; and
(h)two members of the civil society, who shall be appointed by the Attorney-General.
(2)Every member, other than a member appointed under subsec­tion (1) (b) and (c)—
(a)shall hold office for a term of 5 years;
(b)may resign by notifying the Attorney-General in writing to that effect and his resignation shall become effective at the time the Attorney-General receives the notice or at the time specified in the notice, whichever is the later.
(3)Every member shall be paid such allowances as the Attorney-General may determine.
(4)The Attorney-General may at any time terminate the appointment of a member, other than a member appointed under subsection (1) (b) and (c), for bankruptcy, neglect of duty, misbehaviour, or physical or mental incapacity.
[S. 7 amended by s. 25 of Act 14 of 2009 w.e.f. 30 July 2009.]

8. Advisory panels

(1)For the purposes of advising and assisting the Commission in any par­ticular project, the Commission may establish an advisory panel presided over by a member and consisting of persons having specialised knowledge in, or particularly affected by, the matter to be studied and such other mem­bers as the Commission may deem appropriate.
(2)Every person serving on an advisory panel shall serve without remu­neration, but shall be paid reasonable expenses incurred in the course of per­forming duties under this section.

9. Meetings of Commission

(1)Subject to this section, the Commission shall regulate its proceedings in such manner as it thinks fit.
(2)
(a)Subject to paragraph (b), the Commission shall meet at such time and place as may be determined by the Chairperson.
(b)The Chairperson shall convene a meeting on receiving a written request to do so, signed by at least 3 other members.
(3)
(a)The Chairperson shall preside all meetings at which he is present.
(b)If the Chairperson is not present at a meeting, the members who are present shall elect one of their number to preside.
(4)Five members shall constitute a quorum.
(5)A decision of the Commission shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting.
(6)The person presiding a meeting shall have a deliberative vote and, if there is an equality of votes, he shall also have a casting vote.
(7)The Commission shall keep minutes of all its proceedings.

10. Disclosure of interest

(1)Every member who has a material personal interest in a matter that is being considered, or is about to be considered, by the Commission shall dis­close the nature of his interest at the first meeting of the Commission after the relevant facts have come to the member's knowledge.
(2)The disclosure shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting at which it is made.
(3)Unless the Commission otherwise determines, the member making a disclosure under subsection (1)—
(a)shall not be present during any deliberation by the Commission on the matter; and
(b)shall not take part in any decision of the Commission on the matter.
(4)For the purposes of any determination being made under subsec­tion (3), a member who has a material personal interest in the matter to which the disclosure relates—
(a)shall not be present during any deliberation by the Commission on whether to make the determination; and
(b)shall not take part in making the determination.

11. Chief Executive Officer

(1)There shall be a Chief Executive Officer, who shall be—
(a)a legally-qualified person with wide experience in legal research;
(b)appointed by the Commission on such terms and conditions as it may determine.
(2)Under the direction of the Chairperson, the Chief Executive Officer shall be responsible—
(a)for all research to be done by the Commission in the discharge of its functions;
(b)for the drafting of all reports to be made by the Commission;
(c)generally, for the day-to-day supervision of the staff and work of the Commission; and
(d)for such other duties as may be assigned to him by the Commission.
(3)The Chief Executive Officer, unless otherwise directed by the Com­mission, shall attend every meeting of the Commission and may take part in its deliberations, but shall not have the right to vote.

12. Secretary

There shall be a Secretary to the Commission who shall—
(a)under the supervision of the Chief Executive Officer, be respon­sible for the administration of the Commission;
(b)be responsible for taking the minutes of all the proceedings of the Commission;
(c)be appointed by the Commission on such terms and conditions as it thinks fit.

13. Appointment of staff

The Commission may appoint, on such terms and conditions as it may determine, such persons as it thinks necessary for the efficient carrying out of its functions under this Act.

14. Consultants

The Commission may engage, on such terms and conditions as it may determine, persons with suitable qualifications and experience as consultants to the Commission.

15. General Fund

(1)The Commission shall establish a General Fund into which shall be paid—
(a)such funds as the National Assembly shall appropriate for the purposes of the Commission; and
(b)such other sum as may lawfully accrue to it.
(2)All payments required to be made by the Commission shall be ef­fected out of the General Fund.
(3)The Commission's money shall only be applied—
(a)in the discharge of its obligations and liabilities arising under this Act; and
(b)in the payment of any salary or allowances payable under this Act.
(4)Subsection (3) shall not prevent the investment of surplus money of the Commission.
(5)The Commission shall, not later than 3 months before the com­mencement of every financial year, prepare and submit to the Minister re­sponsible for the subject of finance an estimate of its income and expendi­ture for that financial year.
(6)—
(7)—
(8)The auditor to be appointed under section 5 (1) of the Statutory Bod­ies (Accounts and Audit) Act shall be the Director of Audit.

16. Protection from civil liability

(1)No action or other proceedings for damages shall lie against the Commission in relation to anything done, or not done, in good faith in the performance, or purported performance, of any of the Commission's func­tions or powers under this Act.
(2)No action or other proceedings for damages shall lie against the Com­mission, a person who is a member or employee of, or consultant engaged by, the Commission in relation to anything done, or not done, by the person in good faith in the performance, or purported performance, of his duties as a member or employee of, or consultant engaged by, the Commission.

17. Annual report

(1)The Commission shall make an annual report to the Attorney-General on the activities of the Commission.
(2)The Attorney-General shall, as soon as practicable, lay a copy of every report made by the Commission before the Assembly.

18. Donations and legacies

Article 90 of the Code Civil Mauricien shall not apply to the Commission.

19. Regulations

(1)The Attorney-General may, after consultation with the Commission, make such regulations as he thinks fit for the purposes of this Act.
(2)Regulations made under subsection (1) may provide for the levying of fees or charges.

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History of this document

30 June 2017 this version
Consolidation
10 January 2006
Commenced