This is not legal advice. This page is general legal information for Mauritius and does not replace a consultation with a lawyer who has the full context of your case.
Who gets custody of the children in Mauritius, and what if maintenance stops?
There is no rule that the mother always wins, and no rule that she never does. The court decides on the child’s interests, from evidence of the child’s actual life. Inside a divorce, the Family Division of the Supreme Court deals with custody, access and maintenance together. If maintenance, the pension alimentaire, stops, the order does not enforce itself. The parent who is owed goes back to court, with a record of what was missed. Where the paying parent lives abroad, the route depends on that country and on the order.
How does the court decide custody, and does the child’s view count?
Custody is decided under the Code Civil Mauricien and, on divorce, by the Family Division of the Supreme Court. The court looks at the child’s week: who does the school run, who attends the doctor, where the child sleeps, and how each home works. A parent who can show that in dates and documents is in a stronger position than one who argues about the other parent’s character.
Garde des enfants, custody, decides where the child lives. It does not erase the other parent. Contact, the droit de visite, is usually set out in the same order. Whether and how a child’s own wishes are heard depends on the child’s age and maturity and on the court’s directions. Arrangements agreed between parents carry weight when they are precise: days, times, holidays and handovers.
What if the other parent blocks access, or ignores the order?
An access order is not self-enforcing. The parent who is kept away returns to court, and the court can vary the arrangements or take other steps. Keep a dated note of each missed handover and each message. Do not answer a breach with a breach, such as withholding the child from the next visit. The court will look at both parents’ conduct.
A custody or access order can also be changed when the child’s circumstances change, for example a move, a new school or a change in a parent’s work.
The same questions arise for parents who never married. Where paternity is disputed, that question is usually settled first, because maintenance and contact follow from it. Messages, photographs and payment records can all become evidence, so keep them.
My ex stopped paying pension alimentaire. What can I do, even if they live abroad?
Start with the order itself. It states who pays, how much, and how. If payments stop, the remedy is an application to enforce or to vary it, supported by a record of what was paid and when.
If the paying parent lives abroad, whether the Mauritian order can be given effect there depends on the route available for that country and on the order itself. The Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act covers final money judgments from designated courts; it does not reach every order made on divorce. The reverse also applies to a foreign order you want enforced here. How long maintenance runs is set by the order and can be revisited; ask whether it continues during studies.
Can my child travel abroad, or be taken abroad, without my consent?
Removing a child from Mauritius without the required written consent is an offence under the Children’s Act 2020. A parent who wants to travel or relocate with a child should settle the consent, or obtain a court order, before booking.
If a child has already been taken abroad, act quickly. Under the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction Act, the Central Authority is the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry responsible for child development. An application may also go directly to the Supreme Court. Delay can change the outcome, so the first step is a dated account of where the child lived and when the child left.
What the chambers does
In Me Pertaub’s words, “Lex Aquila Advocates deals with family matters generally, including paternity suits, adoptions and other proceedings concerning children specifically and matrimonial issues also.” The chambers advises parents on custody, access, maintenance, parental authority, guardianship, paternity and child abduction. It acts for mothers and fathers alike. Where the divorce itself is in issue, the page on divorce explains that side.
You send a summary of the facts, any existing order and the child’s present routine. The chambers sets out a preliminary advice and the route, then meets you in chambers in Port Louis, or by video if you are abroad. The barrister advises, drafts and appears in court; an attorney-at-law in regular collaboration with the chambers also advises and drafts pleadings, and conducts the procedure.
The useful documents are the birth certificates, any order or written agreement, school and medical records, and a record of payments. “You will get legal advice and legal strategy also,” as Me Pertaub puts it. The initial consultation is a fixed-fee conference, confirmed in writing when the appointment is made. Where a child is at risk at home, see the page on protection orders.