Criminal Proceedings in the Children’s Court of Mauritius

Criminal proceedings in the Children’s Court are heard by its Criminal Division, a specialised court of record applying criminal procedure with additional safeguards for children. It deals with specified cases involving juvenile defendants, child victims and child witnesses. The setting is child-friendly, but the proceedings remain a criminal case in which evidence, representation and fair-hearing rights matter.

The Children’s Court and its criminal role

The Children’s Court Act 2020 came into operation on 24 January 2022. Its Criminal Division is staffed by one or more Intermediate Court Magistrates designated by the Chief Justice. Proceedings are instituted and conducted in the same manner as criminal matters before an Intermediate Court Magistrate, subject to the Children’s Court Act and special procedural provisions elsewhere.

For a juvenile offender, the Division ordinarily has jurisdiction over an offence committed by a person aged 14 to under 18 who is still a juvenile when formally charged. The Schedule excludes certain gravest charges: for offences identified through section 116(2) of the Courts Act, including the listed life-punishable offence, the Children’s Court Magistrate conducts a preliminary inquiry rather than convicting. The Court’s criminal role also extends to scheduled offences against child victims and cases with child witnesses.

How a case reaches the court

A police investigation may lead to a file for prosecutorial decision. Before an arrested juvenile appears in the Criminal Division, section 51 of the Children’s Act requires assessment by a probation officer. That assessment examines care and protection needs, uncertainty about age, release or detention, possible diversion, adult exploitation of the child and other information relevant to the child’s best interests.

Prosecution is not inevitable merely because police have arrested a 14- to 17-year-old. The Director of Public Prosecutions may request a diversion assessment and, where it supports the child’s best interests, offer an individualised non-residential programme instead of starting or continuing formal proceedings. If a charge does proceed, the child needs to know the allegation, the next appearance and any release conditions. The earlier stages are mapped in children in conflict with the law.

Privacy and reporting restrictions

It is inaccurate to promise that every Children’s Court hearing is automatically secret. Section 161A of the Courts Act empowers a Magistrate to exclude people where necessary, including to safeguard a person under 18 or protect privacy; the announcement of the decision remains outside that exclusion. Whether a particular hearing is closed is a judicial decision under that framework.

What is categorical is the child’s identity protection. Section 27 of the Children’s Act prohibits media publication or broadcast of information, images or recordings that identify or tend to identify a child offender, child victim or child witness. A Court may direct that initials or a pseudonym be used in any public part of proceedings. Parents should not defeat that safeguard by posting the child’s charge sheet, school, photograph or alleged victim on social media.

Helping a child participate meaningfully

Section 12 of the Children’s Court Act applies to any Court proceeding involving a child. The language must be simple and comprehensible having regard to age and maturity, and the courtroom must make appropriate arrangements for the child’s evidence. A parent ordinarily accompanies the child; the Court may designate someone else where the parent is the alleged perpetrator, the child objects, or accompaniment by that parent is not in the child’s best interests.

Live video is another carefully limited safeguard. On a prosecution motion, a Court may allow a child victim or witness in a scheduled offence to give evidence through an approved live video or television link, while ensuring a fair hearing. That provision is not a general right for a juvenile defendant to avoid attending trial. A lawyer should tell the Court about language, hearing, learning or mental-health needs early enough for a practical arrangement to be considered.

Representation and support persons

A juvenile defendant may apply for legal assistance during the police enquiry and for bail applications through a parent or legal guardian. If the juvenile wants legal assistance but has no parent or guardian, or that adult refuses to apply, the Children’s Act amendments require the juvenile to be brought before a Magistrate within 24 hours of arrest, and the Magistrate grants legal assistance. This is distinct from simply having a parent in the room.

A guardian ad litem also has a different task from defence counsel. Where there is a parental conflict, custody dispute, unavailable parent or inability to act in the child’s interests, the Protection Division may appoint one to advocate for and monitor the child’s best interests. Defence counsel addresses the criminal allegation and the juvenile’s legal position. Our legal-assistance explainer covers preparation for police questioning.

Orders and dispositions available

If the juvenile is convicted of an offence other than a contravention, the Court must obtain a written pre-sentence report. It covers age, behaviour, home and school circumstances, health and whether training in a youth institution is necessary. The juvenile and parent receive a copy. That report lets the Court decide on an individual record rather than sentence by label alone.

Section 62 of the Children’s Act permits absolute or conditional discharge, a fine and costs, commitment to a parent, close relative or fit person with security for good behaviour, custody and training in an appropriate place, imprisonment where the Court considers the other listed options inappropriate, or another lawful disposal. It is therefore wrong both to say that a child can never receive imprisonment and to treat imprisonment as the routine result. Compare the general principles in sentencing in Mauritius.

Appeals and reviews

An appeal against an order or final judgment of a Criminal Division Magistrate goes to the Supreme Court under section 11 of the Children’s Court Act and the applicable criminal-appeal procedure. The Act expressly permits a juvenile, or a parent on the juvenile’s behalf, to appeal an order committing the juvenile to a Rehabilitation Youth Centre, another place of detention or an institution. An appeal requires the record, decision and a legally available ground; it is not a new trial arranged by sending a complaint letter.

Suppose a 16-year-old from Flacq is charged after a group incident, but phone footage suggests the child arrived after the alleged assault. The defence file should preserve the original footage and metadata, identify the person who recorded it, compare the charge with the witness accounts, and ensure the probation assessment is completed. It should not circulate the clip publicly, especially if another child is visible. The Court, not social media, determines admissibility and guilt. For wider court structure, see the Mauritian legal-system guide.

No honest timetable can be given without the charge, custody status, disclosure position, witnesses and contested issues. A straightforward plea and a defended trial with video evidence will not move at the same speed. The chambers’ sensitive and high-profile matters practice can assess the current procedural stage and required preparation.

This article is general legal information for Mauritius, not legal advice. For advice on your situation, consult a barrister.