author considers that he was not afforded a fair
trial and is thus the victim of a miscarriage of
justice.
“non-prosecution”, that is, failure to pursue the
case.
2.4
Late in 1980, the author came across
fresh evidence which led him to believe that the
police inquiry had been “partial, discriminatory
and deliberately selective”. On 17 March 1981,
however, he was summoned to appear before the
full bench of the Supreme Court under Section 2
of the Legal Practitioners (Disciplinary
Proceeding) Ordinance and advised to remove
his name from the roll of practicing barristers.
The author subsequently requested his removal
from the Roll of Barristers so as to prevent the
continuation of disciplinary proceedings against
him. In 1983 and 1986, he submitted petitions for
pardon to the Commission on the Prerogative of
Mercy; both were rejected. Since 1981, he has
unsuccessfully sought to obtain the assistance of
the Mauritius Bar Council in his efforts to be
readmitted to the roll of practicing barristers. In
1986, he contemplated a formal motion before
the Supreme Court but was advised to contact the
Attorney General’s office instead, since a Letter
from the Attorney General would be sufficient
for him to resume his practice. He wrote to the
Attorney General but did not receive any reply.
3.2
With respect to the requirement of
exhaustion of domestic remedies, the author
states that he did not pursue his appeal to the
Judicial Committee Of the Privy Council because
of the prohibitive costs involved, and because it
would not, in his opinion, have constituted an
effective remedy, as the Privy Council does not
entertain an appeal based on facts. He claims that
after the decision of the Chief Justice not to grant
his request for re-instatement, the only effective
remedy for him would be the enactment of new
legislation allowing for a retrial in cases in which
new material evidence becomes available after
the conclusion of the trial, or new legislation
vesting disciplinary powers in the Mauritian Bar
Council along the same lines as those vested in
the British Bar Council. He concludes that he has
exhausted available judicial remedies, and
affirms that the prolongation of the pursuit of
remedies is not solely attributable to him.
The State party’s observations
4.1
The State party contends that the
communication should be declared inadmissible
pursuant to articles 2 and 5, paragraph 2(b), of
the Optional Protocol. It argues that it is
inadmissible on the ground of non-exhaustion of
domestic remedies because the author, although
availing himself of several non-judicial remedies,
failed to pursue the avenue provided for under
Mauritian law: to first apply to the Registrar for
reinsertion of his name on the Roll of Barristers,
and, in the event of a negative decision, to seek
judicial review of the Registrar’s decision. The
State party claims that the communication is also
inadmissible because of the author’s failure to
pursue his petition for leave to appeal to the
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
2.5
Early in 1989, the author wrote to the
Chief Justice, who recommended to him to apply
for re-instatement under the Law Practitioner’s
Act 1984; the author did so. On 17 November
1989, the Chief Justice declined to issue the
order for his re-instatement on the ground of the
author’s previous conviction
The complaint
3.1
The author claims that there was no
basis for suspending him indefinitely from the
exercise of his profession. He notes that
Mauritian legislation makes no provisions for a
retrial in cases in which there exists new material
evidence, which was unknown to the accused
prior to the trial. As all criminal investigations
are conducted by the police who have overall
responsibility for a case, the judicial authorities,
may only require supplementary information
with respect to the investigation but have no
control over it. Once an investigation is
completed, it is submitted to the Crown Law
Office. The author argues that at this juncture
there exists a “no man’s land” bound to create
situations in which the administration of justice
may be jeopardized. He notes that the institution
of the examining magistrate (Juge d’instruction)
is unknown in Mauritius. For these reasons, the
4.2
The State party further affirms that the
communication is inadmissible pursuant to
article 2, of the Optional Protocol, since it does
not disclose a claim under article 2 of the
Optional Protocol. It notes that in as much as the
author’s claim of a violation of article 14, on the
ground that he had discovered new evidence not
available to him during the trial, is concerned, the
communication does not disclose in precise terms
what this new evidence was. It contends that all
the evidence referred to in the communication
was available during the trial, and that the
allegation of an “elaborate police frame up”
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