Seychelles
Mixed: civil and common law
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Seychelles is a mixed system. Its Civil Code is based on French law, while its criminal and public law follow English common law. It has a Constitution of 1993 and a Constitutional Court within the Supreme Court.
Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Where the law comes from
- The Constitution of 1993, the highest law
- The Civil Code of Seychelles, based on the French code, for private law
- English common law and statutes, for criminal, public and commercial law
- Decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court
The main courts
- The Court of Appeal, the final court
- The Supreme Court, which also sits as the Constitutional Court
- Magistrates' courts and specialised tribunals
Becoming a lawyer
A law degree and admission as an attorney-at-law by the Supreme Court. Notaries form a separate profession.
What may surprise you
- Like Mauritius, it joins a French civil code to English common law.
- Judges are often brought in from other Commonwealth countries.
- It has a small population but a full set of courts, including a Constitutional Court.
Related systems
How this country is classified
The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Seychelles as: Common law, Civil 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.
Other countries in the same family
Sources
Sources last reviewed: October 2026.
TheLawToKnow Tools’s Legal Families Atlas is an educational overview. It simplifies on purpose, and it is not legal advice. For a real legal question about Seychelles, consult a lawyer qualified there. Report a mistake.
