Courts Act Seychelles

[Shane Rouse]

Itwas created in 1903 by Order in Council, when it consisted of one judge who was the Chief Justice of the Court. Appeal cases with final judgments of the court in civil matters were transferred to the Supreme Court of Mauritius.[1]

When Seychelles became a Republic in 1976, a new Seychelles Court of Appeal was constituted which consisted of a President, two Justices of Appeal and the Judges of the Supreme Court as ex-officio members. Appeals to the court of Civil Appeal of Mauritius were abolished.

In 1993, under the new constitution, the judicial power of Seychelles is vested in the Supreme Court, a Court of Appeal, and such subordinate courts or tribunals that may be established by legislature. The Attorney-General and the judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President from a list of candidates prepared by the Constitutional Appointments Authority. The head of the Supreme Court, who is also the head of the Judiciary, is entitled the Chief Justice. The other judges of the Supreme Court are referred to as Puisne Judges.

more than three-quarters of the population lives on the main island of Mahe; Praslin contains less than 10%; a smaller percent on La Digue and the outer islands as shown in this population distribution map

the smallest African country in terms of both area and population; the constitution of the Republic of Seychelles lists 155 islands, 42 granitic and 113 coralline; by far the largest island is Mahe, which is home to about 90% of the population and the site of the capital city of Victoria

highest court(s): Seychelles Court of Appeal (consists of the court president and 4 justices); Supreme Court of Seychelles (consists of the chief justice and 9 puisne judges); Constitutional Court (consists of 3 Supreme Court judges)

judge selection and term of office: all judges appointed by the president of the republic upon the recommendation of the Constitutional Appointments Authority, a 3-member body, with 1 member appointed by the president of the republic, 1 by the opposition leader in the National Assembly, and 1 by the other 2 appointees; judges serve until retirement at age 70

subordinate courts: Magistrates' Courts of Seychelles; Family Tribunal for issues such as domestic violence, child custody, and maintenance; Employment Tribunal for labor-related disputes

Seychelles Party for Social Justice and Democracy or SPSJD [Vesna RAKIC]

Seychellois Democratic Alliance or LDS (Linyon Demokratik Seselwa/Union Dmocratique Seychelloise) (coalition includes SNP and SPSJD) [Roger MANCIENNE]

Seychelles National Party or SNP [Wavel RAMKALAWAN]

United Seychelles or US [Patrick HERMINIE]

five oblique bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, red, white, and green (bottom) radiating from the bottom of the hoist side; the oblique bands are meant to symbolize a dynamic new country moving into the future; blue represents sky and sea, yellow the sun giving light and life, red the peoples' determination to work for the future in unity and love, white social justice and harmony, and green the land and natural environment

high-income Indian Ocean island economy; rapidly growing tourism sector; major tuna exporter; offshore financial hub; environmentally fragile and investing in ocean rise mitigation; recently discovered offshore oil potential; successful anticorruption efforts

the national broadcaster, Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), which is funded by taxpayer money, operates the only terrestrial TV station, which provides local programming and airs broadcasts from international services; a privately owned Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) channel also provides local programming multi-channel cable and satellite TV are available through 2 providers; the national broadcaster operates 1 AM and 1 FM radio station; there are 2 privately operated radio stations; transmissions of 2 international broadcasters are accessible in Victoria

the SDF's inventory primarily consists of Soviet-era equipment delivered in the 1970s and 1980s; in recent years, the SDF has received limited amounts of more modern equipment, mostly donations of patrol boats and aircraft, from several suppliers led by China and India (2023)

formed in 1977, the SDF is one of the World's smallest militaries; its primary responsibility is maritime security, particularly countering illegal fishing, piracy, and drug smuggling; it was given police powers in 2022; the Seychelles has close security ties with India (2023)

In an effort to combat piracy off of the East African coast, the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime and the government of the Seychelles have announced the establishment of a regional center to prosecute suspected pirates on the tiny island nation.

The establishment of the center will allow the European Union Naval Force Somalia, which patrols the Gulf of Aden, to transfer captured pirates to the Seychelles for prosecution. This is the second such institution of its kind, the first residing in Kenya.

In addition to U.N. support, the new center will receive funding from the European Union, Australia, Canada and Germany aimed at strengthening the nation's jurisdictional and procedural capacity to prosecute pirates arrested in the region.

The European Union Naval Force Somalia and the Vienna-based U.N. Office of Drugs and Crime already operates a counter-piracy program based in the Seychelles which will train and assist the nation's coast guard, police and prison officials to properly receive and detain suspects.

Piracy has become a large problem for the small nation over the past year. Increased international patrols in piracy hot spots around East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula have forced pirates to operate farther afield. In March, Somali pirates hijacked a ship near Indian waters, more than 1,600 kilometers off the Somali coast, and pirates now regularly prey on shipping lanes near the Seychelles.

The Seychelles began prosecuting piracy in March, when 11 pirates were arrested off its coast with assistance of the European Union. A further 11 pirates were transferred to Seychelles authorities after being captured by the French Navy near Somalia the same week.

The country has amended its criminal code to allow its courts to prosecute suspected pirates under universal jurisdiction, and many hope the new institution will ease the burden currently placed on Kenya.

But a Horn of Africa analyst for London-based think tank Chatham House, Roger Middleton, says the nation's capacity is too small to solve the problem.

"It is so tiny. It has got two courtrooms in the whole country and something incredible like 100 capacity in all of its prisons. It is really tiny, so it is only going to be able to deal with a very small amount of the pirates that are captured," said Middleton. "There is a huge shortfall and western countries still do not want to take pirates home to deal with them, so they are going to have to find somebody else or other way of get them prosecuted. There are a lot of pirates out there, and no enormous amount of space to send them."

Pirates captured in the region are supposed to be prosecuted in Kenya. The government has separately agreed with the US, EU, Britain, Canada, Denmark and China to accept Somali pirates but in March the country refused to take any more, arguing that the burden should be equally shared among the international community.

Kenya's judicial system is notoriously slow and its prisons already overcrowded. Kenyan officials have asked for additional support to ease the strain, but have not yet specified what is needed.

The Seychelles court will help to alleviate the judicial burden, but it does not solve the problem of imprisonment. While the country has agreed to prosecute the suspects, it has asserted that those convicted be returned to Somalia to serve their sentences.

Many countries agree to this sentiment in principle but Somalia has been without a functioning government for over 20 years, and lacks any capacity to handle the prisoners. The U.N.-backed Transitional Federal Government is currently beset by multiple Islamist groups attempting to overthrow it and can barely maintain control over small parts of its capital, Mogadishu.

And even if it were possible to return the convicted pirates, many fear that bribes paid with the millions of dollars in ransom money earned by the pirates would easily secure their freedom.

The U.N. Security Council asked Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to draft a plan for the future prosecution and imprisonment of pirates last month. The plan, which is due around late July, could establish a tribunal to deal with the issue, but until then the prosecution of Somali pirates will remain an international puzzle.

Seychelles has seen an increase in political pluralism in recent years, with an opposition coalition winning a parliamentary majority in 2016 and an opposition presidential candidate winning in 2020. However, government corruption remains a problem, as does lengthy pretrial detention. Migrant workers remain vulnerable to abuse.

The president is chief of state and head of government; the winning candidate is directly elected for up to two five-year terms. The president nominates cabinet ministers and a vice president, all of whom require approval from the National Assembly.

The LDS won 25 seats in the October 2020 elections, which were held concurrently with the presidential contest. US won the remaining 10. Observers called the elections free and fair, though they did receive reports alleging misuse of state resources.

The Electoral Commission (EC) has faced criticism from opposition parties and others for enforcing its mandates inconsistently. In 2018, then president Faure approved an Elections Act amendment establishing a permanent chief electoral officer. The amendment was intended to alleviate concerns about the efficiency of the previous system, in which a chief electoral officer was appointed a few months before an election.

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