Dismissal of a president: Milan Meetarbhan gives his opinion on the proposed amendments
In its report, made public on Friday, September 16, 2022, the commission of inquiry into Ameenah Gurib-Fakim made several proposals. Some of them relate to the amendments to be made to the Constitution in relation to presidential immunity and the dismissal of a President of the Republic.
According to Milan Meetarbhan, constitutional lawyer, the commission does not really propose an amendment to the clause relating to the dismissal of a president. “On the contrary, she believes that the current mechanism is quite correct. On the other hand, it identifies a lacuna in the powers of the court. »
Milan Meetarbhan explains that to depose a president, according to the Constitution, it is necessary to appoint a court. This is made up of judges from Mauritius and the Commonwealth. “If the commission found a gap in the law and the Constitution, it is because the modalities of the tribunal are nowhere,” he says.
The lawyer adds that another recommendation is to deprive a former President of the Republic of his pension and his privileges, if he is found guilty of having committed an offense “involving fraud, dishonesty, moral depravity or any offense against the state”. Milan Meetarbhan explains that he then does not have to take care of other public functions in the future.
“In this case, it would mean that we are talking about a new law that will have to be adopted. And if it is adopted, it will therefore, in principle, only be applied to presidents appointed after its promulgation”, he specifies.
Another important recommendation related to immunity, according to him, is that the provisions of the Constitution on this subject had been canceled through the amendment voted in 1991, when Mauritius acceded to the status of Republic. “But during the 2014 election campaign, some were saying that someone wanted to be president and that he would have immunity. But indeed, it was already in the Constitution, ”says the lawyer.
The commission of inquiry recommends amending this provision of the Constitution so that, in certain cases, it is possible to ask a court of law to intervene to abolish presidential immunity. “But for all of this to happen, you have to get a three-quarters majority to amend the Constitution,” stresses Milan Meetarbhan.
Parvez Dookhy: “You have to ask yourself if immunity should be absolute”
Parvez Dookhy, lawyer in international law, pushes the reflection further. He wondered whether immunity should be absolute. “If a President of the Republic kills a person, while he is not in the exercise of his functions, must he still enjoy his immunity? If this is the case, we will have to wait until the end of his mandate to follow up on the case, ”he explains.
Can a President of the Republic assume other functions than those incumbent on him or collaborate with a company? “No. He shouldn’t be allowed to do that,” the lawyer replies.
“In the case of Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, the Planet Earth Institute requested her as President of the Republic. The question that arises is: should she accept or not? Was that its role under the Constitution? She had the option of not accepting these functions. Then there would have been no problem”, concluded Parvez Dookhy.