The Children’s Court is a specialist Mauritian court with two divisions: Protection and Criminal. It is not a general family court, and its name does not mean that every dispute involving a person under 18 belongs there. The governing question is jurisdiction: the Children’s Court Act 2020 identifies the proceedings each division may hear, while other matters—such as an ordinary custody dispute between separated parents—remain for the court assigned by other legislation.
How and why the Children’s Court was established
The Children’s Court Act created a court of record, and the legislation was brought into operation on 24 January 2022. Magistrates of the Intermediate Court are designated to sit in its divisions; the Chief Justice directs where and when the Court sits. The specialist structure works alongside the Children’s Act 2020, which contains the substantive protection measures and many of the rules for children who are suspected of offences.
Specialisation changes the way a child is received and heard, but not the need for a lawful application, admissible material and a reasoned decision. Section 12 of the Children’s Court Act requires proceedings to use language that is simple and comprehensible to the child, to respect the child’s dignity and, where appropriate, to permit accompaniment by a parent or another person chosen by the child.
Which cases belong in the Protection Division
The Protection Division hears applications under Part IV of the Children’s Act. Those include emergency protection, placement, ancillary, long-term care and certain contact applications concerning a child who is already in a place of safety. A report to the Child Development Unit may precede an application, but an administrative investigation and a court order are distinct stages. Our guide to a CDU investigation explains what families should preserve and how they should respond.
A private disagreement about residence or access is not converted into a Protection Division case merely because the parents describe the conflict as harmful. For divorced or separated parents, custody and access commonly arise under the Civil Code in the Supreme Court. Genuine safety information should still be reported, but selecting the wrong proceeding can waste time and obscure the immediate protection issue.
What the Criminal Division hears
The Criminal Division deals with statutory categories of cases involving child victims or witnesses and with many offences alleged against juveniles. The Act excludes specified grave offences from an ordinary trial in that division. For those offences, the Children’s Court conducts a preliminary inquiry and does not determine guilt; the inquiry decides whether the prosecution should proceed in the competent trial court.
That distinction matters. A preliminary inquiry is not a reduced criminal trial and does not end with conviction or acquittal. In less grave juvenile cases, assessment, a decision on diversion and trial are separate possibilities. The sequence is examined in our article on Children’s Court criminal proceedings.
Privacy and reporting are not the same as a closed court
It is inaccurate to say that every Children’s Court hearing is automatically private. Section 161A of the Courts Act allows the court to exclude the public where this is necessary for the welfare of a person under 18 or for the protection of private life, although the decision must be announced publicly. Separately, section 27 of the Children’s Act restricts publication capable of identifying a child victim, witness or alleged offender and allows the court to direct use of a pseudonym.
Families should therefore avoid posting charge sheets, photographs, school details or accounts of a child’s evidence. Removing a name may not be enough if the neighbourhood, relationship and incident together identify the child. The publication restriction protects identity; it is not a licence to ignore a summons, withhold relevant documents or discuss evidence with a child before testimony.
Who represents the child and the adults
A parent’s presence, a barrister’s role and a guardian ad litem’s appointment serve different purposes. An adult party may obtain legal representation for his or her own position. A guardian ad litem is appointed only in circumstances set out in the Children’s Act—for example, where no parent is available or where the child’s interests conflict with the parent’s—and safeguards the child’s interests rather than acting as an additional lawyer for either parent.
Nor must a child always give evidence in the same physical arrangement as an adult. On the prosecution’s motion, the Criminal Division may receive a child victim’s or witness’s evidence by live video or live television link where a fair hearing remains possible. That rule concerns victims and witnesses; it should not be stated as an automatic entitlement for every child in every proceeding.
Protection orders and what they can require
An emergency protection order addresses immediate removal or prevention of removal. A placement order concerns care in a place of safety, while an ancillary order can add measures such as assessment, counselling, supervision, mediation, parenting support or controlled contact. A long-term care order addresses a longer placement. Because these orders do different work, a family should read the operative wording and expiry provisions rather than rely on the label used in conversation.
Suppose the CDU receives a hospital report concerning a child in Quartier Militaire and obtains an emergency protection order. The next hearing is not simply a review of whether the parents are “good” or “bad”. The Court may need reliable information about the alleged injury, available relatives, the home, school continuity, treatment and whether a less intrusive arrangement can keep the child safe. Medical notes, civil-status documents and a workable care proposal will be more useful than character references that do not address those questions.
Appeals and the importance of the exact order
Appeal routes are not uniform. The Children’s Act provides a 21-day appeal to a Judge in Chambers for specified placement, ancillary, long-term care and contact decisions. An emergency protection order has its own urgent statutory procedure, including an application for discharge after 72 hours, rather than the same appeal formula. Final decisions of the Criminal Division may be appealed to the Supreme Court in the manner provided by the Children’s Court Act.
Obtain the sealed order, note when it was made and served, and identify the provision under which it was issued. An appeal does not automatically suspend a Protection Division order. Until a court changes an order, comply with its terms and use the correct application or appeal instead of relying on an oral arrangement with another family member. For related private-law issues, see child access and visitation and the chambers’ family-law practice.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Children’s Court open to the public?
There is no blanket rule that every hearing is closed. The court may exclude the public under section 161A of the Courts Act where a child’s welfare or private life requires it, and separate law restricts publication that could identify a child victim, witness or alleged offender.
Who can speak for a child in the Children’s Court?
A child may have legal assistance where appropriate, and the Children’s Act permits appointment of a guardian ad litem in defined situations such as a conflict with a parent’s interests. A parent’s presence does not make the parent the child’s representative for every purpose.
Does a child attend every hearing?
Not necessarily. Attendance and the method of receiving a child’s evidence depend on the division, the child’s role and the court’s directions. In criminal proceedings, a child victim or witness may give evidence by live link on the prosecution’s motion if a fair hearing can still be secured.
How Lex Aquila Advocates can help
Lex Aquila Advocates can identify whether a proposed application belongs in the Protection Division, the Criminal Division or another Mauritian court, and can advise on the evidence and procedure attached to that route. The chambers can also assist with representation, an existing protection order or an appeal; contact use the enquiry form; enquire on WhatsApp; or call +230 5858 7956 · urgent matters.
This article is general legal information for Mauritius, not legal advice. For advice on your situation, consult a barrister.