Mauritius
Foundations Act
Act 8 of 2012
- Commenced on 1 July 2012
- [This is the version of this document at 30 June 2017.]
Part I – Preliminary
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Foundations Act.2. Interpretation
In this Act—"administrator" means a person appointed as such under section 6;"approved form" means such form as the Registrar may approve;"Articles" means the Articles of a Foundation, made by the Council under section 10;"beneficiary" means a person—(a)who is entitled to benefit under a Foundation; or(b)in whose favour a power to distribute any Foundation property may be exercised;"charitable Foundation" means a foundation referred to in section 7;"charter" means the charter of a Foundation;"Code" means the Code Civil Mauricien;"Commission" has the same meaning as in the Financial Services Act;"Council" means the Council of a Foundation;"Court" means the Supreme Court;"current standing", in relation to a Foundation, means that—(a)it is registered according to the law of the relevant country;(b)it has paid all fees or charges due for the current year; and(c)it is not in the process of being wound up and no proceedings for the removal of its name from the register are pending;"endow"—(a)means, whether by way of a covenant or otherwise and with or without consideration, to pass the title in property absolutely to a Foundation so that it is the property of that Foundation; and(b)includes to do any act which may be necessary for the effective transfer of any title in property;"executor"—(a)means a person named in a will, or nominated by the testator to carry out the directions of the will; and(b)includes, in the case of a foreign will, the executor’s duly appointed lawful agent;"financial statement" means a statement approved by a Council, which presents fairly the financial position, financial performance and cash flow of a Foundation and contains such other information as may be required by the Registrar;"Foundation" means a Foundation established in Mauritius or elsewhere and registered in accordance with this Act;"founder" means a person who endows a Foundation with its initial assets;"initial assets" means the property transferred to a Foundation in accordance with section 11 (1);"law practitioner" has the same meaning as in the Law Practitioners Act;"liquidator" means a person qualified to be an insolvency practitioner under the Insolvency Act;"management company" has the same meaning as in the Financial Services Act;"Minister" means the Minister to whom responsibility for the subject of finance is assigned;"non-citizen" has the same meaning as in the Non-Citizens (Property Restriction) Act;"officer" means a person, including an auditor, appointed as such under section 18;"property" includes movable and immovable property, wherever situated, and rights and interests in the property, whether vested, contingent, defeasible or future;"protector" or "committee of protectors" means the person or persons appointed in accordance with a charter and having such powers and duties as may be specified in the charter;"records" means the records, including accounting records, and documents required to be kept by a Foundation under sections 37 and 38;"register" means the register of Foundations required to be maintained under section 28;"Registrar" means the Registrar of Companies, appointed under the Companies Act, who shall also be the Registrar of Foundations;"remaining beneficiary" means the person who, according to a charter, shall be entitled to receive any assets remaining after the dissolution or winding-up of the Foundation;"secretary" means the secretary of a Foundation appointed under section 13;"supervisory person", in relation to a Foundation, means a member of the Council of the Foundation, a protector or a committee of protectors;"will" means—(a)a will duly established and executed according to the Code; or(b)in the case of a foreign will, a will duly executed in accordance with the law governing the testator’s estate.3. Purpose and objects of Foundation
4. Founder
Part II – Establishment of Foundation
5. Need for registration of Foundation
6. Foundation established by will
7. Charitable Foundation
8. Charter of Foundation
9. Amendment of charter
10. Articles of Foundation
11. Property of Foundation
12. Powers and obligations
13. Appointment and qualification of secretary
14. Registered office
15. Change of registered office
16. Council
17. Membership of Council
18. Duties and powers of Council
19. Personal liability of officers and members of Council
Part III – Name of Foundation
20. Name of Foundation
21. Change of name
22. Use of Foundation name
Part IV – Registration
23. Application for registration
24. Registration
25. Certificate of registration
A certificate of registration of a Foundation issued under section 24 (1) (c) shall be conclusive evidence that—26. Separate legal personality
A Foundation registered under this Act shall have a separate legal personality as from the date a certificate of registration is issued under section 24 (1) (c).27. Pre-registration actions
Part V – Register
28. Register of Foundations
29. Inspection of register
30. Powers of inspection of Registrar
Part VI – Capacity, powers and validity of Acts
31. Capacity and powers
32. Power of officers to bind Foundation
33. Method of contracting
34. Disclosure of interest
35. Rights of beneficiary to information
A beneficiary of a Foundation shall, on written request to the secretary, be entitled—Part VII – Records and documents
36. Records to be kept
37. Documents to be kept at registered office
38. Publication
Part VIII – Removal from and restoration to register
39. Removal from register
40. Effect of removal from register
41. Restoration to register and effect of removal
Part IX – Winding-up
42. Voluntary winding-up
43. Winding-up by Court
44. Distribution of assets on winding-up
Part X – Miscellaneous
45. Certificate of current standing
46. Confidentiality
47. Redomiciliation
48. Remedy
49. Service of documents on Foundation
50. Offences committed by Foundation
50A. Compounding of offences
51. ***
52. Regulations
53. ***
History of this document
30 June 2017 this version
Consolidation
01 July 2012
Commenced