Mauritius

• The Constitution of 1968, the highest law
• The Civil Code (Code Napoléon, as adapted), for private law
• English common law and statutes, for public, criminal and commercial law
• Decisions of the Supreme Court and of the Privy Council

• The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London, the final court of appeal
• The Supreme Court, including the Court of Civil Appeal and the Court of Criminal Appeal
• The Intermediate Court and the District Courts

A law degree, then a call to the bar as a barrister, or admission as an attorney or notary. The profession is divided into three parts.

• The French Civil Code remains in force from before British rule, and the English language of the courts coexists with French codes.
• Barristers, attorneys and notaries are separate professions.
• A judge trained in English law has to apply French-style rules on contracts and family law.

Seychelles, Saint Lucia, United Kingdom, France, South Africa

The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Mauritius as: Civil law, Common law. It names the systems in order of importance.

The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.

Botswana, Cameroon, Cyprus, Guyana, Israel, Lesotho, Malta, Namibia, Northern Cyprus, Philippines, Saint Lucia, Seychelles, South Africa, Sri Lanka.

• JuriGlobe: world legal systems (University of Ottawa)
• Constitute Project: constitution of Mauritius

Sources last reviewed: October 2026.