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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The evolution of the meaning(s) of penal servitude for life (life imprisonment) in Mauritius: the human rights and jurisprudential challenges confronted so far and those ahead
Author:Mujuzi, Jamil DdamuliraISNI
Year:2009
Periodical:Journal of African Law
Volume:53
Issue:2
Pages:222-248
Language:English
Geographic term:Mauritius
Subjects:imprisonment
capital punishment
judicial review of legislation
criminal law
human rights
Abstract:Following the abolition of the death penalty in Mauritius in 1995, life imprisonment became the most severe sentence that a court could impose. This article analyses the history of the various meanings and interpretations of the sentence of penal servitude for life in Mauritius, the human rights implications, and the likely challenges that courts will confront in interpreting new legislation. The Privy Council held in 2008 that a mandatory sentence of penal servitude for life was arbitrary and disproportionate because it violated the right to a fair trial under the constitution. However, the article argues that the Privy Council should also have found that penal servitude for life, where the offender is to be detained for the rest of his life, violates the prisoner's right not to be subjected to inhuman punishment under the constitution, as well as violating Mauritius's international human rights obligations. It recommends that Mauritian courts consult South African jurisprudence when interpreting what amounts to substantial and compelling circumstances under the 2007 Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act. Notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]
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