The Rights of The People
Section 1
All persons born or naturalized in Mauritius, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of Mauritius.
None shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person the equal protection of the laws of Mauritius.1
Section 2
The National Assembly shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble.2
Section 3
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.3
Section 4
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.4
Section 5
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense paid by the state if he so needs.5
Section 6
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall be above one thousand rupees, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any Court of Mauritius, than according to the rules of the common law.
Section 7
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.6
Section 8
Any person, in case he is acquitted after he has been wrongfully arrested or detained, may sue the State for redress as ascertained by law.7
All law enforcement officers will have to subscribe to the state police pension fund which will pay out all claims to an aggrieved party when ordered to do so by a court of law.
Any law enforcement officer found guilty of violating the due process of law when it concerns the rights of a person shall be liable to pay higher and higher premiums as ascertained by law. The premiums shall in all circumstances not be higher than fifty percent of the officer’s monthly net pay.
Section 9
The age where a citizen can be deemed old enough to consent to sexual intercourse shall be set at eighteen years.8
A Romeo and Juliet clause shall be allowed where the difference of the absolute value of the two ages in controversy shall be at most 4.9
Section 10
The citizens shall pay to have information and unbiased education provided on public radio and television and therefore shall be entitled to have them be free from partisanship of any kind and propaganda.
Section 11
The enumeration in this Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people such as but not limited to; the protection of the people against slavery and involuntary servitude, the right to move at will and enjoy freedom of residence, freedom of occupation, freedom of learning and the arts, the right to private property, the right to privacy and any other self evident right.10
Footnotes
Due process of law is not robust in its interpretation in the Republic of Mauritius. For example, arbitrary arrests frequently do not proceed to the next legal step required by law, which is the right to the presence of a counsel for legal assitance. They rather proceed to the intimidation step by violating the due process of law. This is a simple example that has been perpetuated for 56 years with ‘Ti-Dimoune’ and enemies of government’s in power. But there are plenty of such things. Not presenting a valid warrant and entering your home, that is violation of the due process of law↩︎
This will end ICTA’s reign of terror of attacking anything that moves that does not agree with our king.↩︎
This will end the SST’s reign of terror because reasonable suspicion will finally die and probable cause which is a much stronger standard will finally come in.↩︎
This allows you to plead the fifth and will allow people who were coerced into providing self-incrinating confessions obtained through torture, a classic in our lovely country, to get their day in court.↩︎
Can’t arbitrarily arrest you and keep you confined forever anymore to intimidate you↩︎
Bye bye, IBA fines for radios that forced a radio to kneel to government↩︎
This would effectively cease all police torture because their pockets would become liable.↩︎
It is currently 16. I am a conservative but liberal person I guess.↩︎
Don’t mess with kids if you are no longer one.↩︎
Thought of a self evident right that I did not cover? This section covers it informally. This section along with others would guarantee abortion rights for every women, something we do not have. This constitution has the right to privacy explicitly stated unlike its US counterpart↩︎