Welcome to the website of the Bar Association of Seychelles. One of the key aims of the Bar Association is to encourage the dissemination of information on legal subjects. In this website you will find a wealth of information on the Seychelles Legal Scene. To learn more about the Bar Association or to contact the Bar Association, please refer to the About Us page. If you are interested in engaging the services of a Seychelles lawyer or to verify the status of one, please refer to the Attorneys-at-Law & Notaries page. If you are interested in updating your Membership or becoming an Associate Member, please refer to the Membership page.
NOTICE: The Bar Association of Seychelles has received reports that there are organizations passing themselves off as Seychelles Law Firms and individuals passing themselves off as Seychelles Lawyers. Please note that complete lists of all practicing Attorneys-at-Law, Notaries and Law Firms are available on this website. If you are dealing with any individual or organization that is not in our lists, please report these individuals or query their status to the Bar Association of Seychelles and the Registrar of the Supreme Court. |
posted 9 Dec 2011 09:58 by Bar Association of Seychelles
The Bar Association of Seychelles held its 2011 Annual General Meeting earlier today at the premises of the Supreme Court of Seychelles. A number of issues were raised by members of the bar, such as amendments to the rules of the association governing membership, the implementation of a code of ethics and the threat to the rule of law in the country.
One of the key highlights of the meeting were the elections of the Management Committee. The members re-elected the entire Management Committee to serve another term. In particular, Mr Antony Derjacques will now serve a third consecutive term as Chairman, Mr Divino Sabino was also re-elected as Secretary and will serve a third consecutive term, Miss Teresa Micock was re-elected to a second consecutive term as Treasurer and Messrs Frank Ally & Elvis Chetty were re-elected as Executive Committee Members.
The Bar Association of Seychelles would like to thank the Judiciary for providing the venue for the meeting and Ernst & Young (Seychelles) for auditing the association's accounts. |
posted 26 Nov 2011 09:54 by Bar Association of Seychelles
The Bar Association of Seychelles ("BAS") held its 2011 Dinner at the Wharf Hotel & Marina on November 25, 2011. The dinner was held in honour of Mr Francis Chang-Sam, who was awarded with the Senior Counsel title.
Mr Francis Chang-Sam, SC
Over 60 distinguished guests, including Chief Justice Fredrick-Egonda Ntende, President of the Court of Appeal Mr Francis MacGregor, Justices of Appeal, Judges of the Supreme Court, Magistrates, State Couunsel and Attorneys-at-Law, gathered at the Wharf for the momentus occassion, in the opening speech, Mr Divino Sabino, the Secretary of BAS stated that the Senior Counsel title is bestowed by BAS on only the most accomplished of attorneys, in particular, attorneys with over 20 years experience at the bar and who have made significant contributions to Seychelles jurisprudence.
Mr Divino Sabino, Secretary of the Bar Association & Mr Bernard Georges, MC of the 2011 Bar Association Dinner
In his speech, Chief Justice Egonda-Ntende congratulated Mr Chang-Sam on his appointment as Senior Counsel and also thanked members of the bar who have been willing to work with him since his appointment as Chief Justice in 2009.
In honour of Mr Chang-Sam, Mr Frank Ally, who did his pupillage under Mr Chang-Sam, stated that Mr Chang-Sam is one of the most hardworking lawyers around and he appreciated Mr Chang-Sam's open door policy towards his juniors, Mr Ally included, who would often seek his advice and counsel. Mr Ally stated that Mr Chang-Sam is also probably the first Seychellois to obtain a law degree (from the London School of Economics), and that he was called to the bar at Gray's Inn. Mr Ally also mentioned his and Mr Chang-Sam's Praslinois roots and traced Mr Chang-Sam's career from a State Counsel, Principal Legal Draftsman, Registrar General, Attorney General and then his opening of his own private law chambers.
Mr Chang-Sam thanked the Bar Association for the honour and thanked his wife, Mercedes, in particular, stating that she was his anchor.
The MC for the night was Mr Bernard Georges a Barrister of Gray's Inn, pointed out the Mr Chang-Sam is the first Gray's Inn Barrister to be bestowed with the Senior Counsel title. There are only 3 other Senior Counsel, Mr Ramnikal Valabhji, SC was called at Lincoln's Inn and Messrs Pesi Pardiwalla, SC and Kieran Shah, SC were called at Middle Temple. To date, no one from Inner Temple has been awarded with the Senior Counsel title. The vast majority of Seychelles attorneys studied in the UK and were called to the bar by one of the four Inns of Court.
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posted 26 Nov 2011 07:48 by Bar Association of Seychelles
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updated 26 Nov 2011 07:49
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As per Chief Justice Egonda-Ntende's announcement in September 2011 during his speech heralding the opening of the Supreme Court term, the Civil Justice Working Group met at the premises of the Supreme Court on November 8, 2011.
Present at the meeting were Chief Justice Mr Fredrick Egonda-Ntende, Judge Mr Durai Karunakaran, Senior Magistrate Mrs Samia Govinden, State Counsel Mr Chinnasamy Jayaraj & Mr David Esparon and from the private bar - Mr Pesi Pardiwalla SC, Mr Francis Chang-Sam, Mr John Renaud & Mr Divino Sabino, representing the Bar Association of Seychelles.
The aim of the working group is to look into ways to expedite civil litigation and the conduct of cases. One of the working groups key aspirations is to help create the right investment climate in the country.
The working group discussed the creation of more court rules on specific areas of the law and on the creation of new civil procedure rules for both the Supreme Court and the Magistrates Court, possibly even that of unified rules.
The working group also called on the members of the bar to make general or specific proposals on improving upon areas of the civil justice system. The working group is expected to meet at the end of each month from January 2012 onwards. It is hoped that proposals from the bar are received prior to its next meeting at the end of January 2012. |
posted 26 Nov 2011 07:04 by Bar Association of Seychelles
The Criminal Justice Stakeholders Committee met at the premises of the Supreme Court on October 19, 2011. Inter alia, the Group comprised of Chief Justice Mr Fredrick Egonda-Ntende, the Commissioner of Police Mr Ernest Quatre, the Senior Magistrate Mrs Samia Govinden, Mr Nichol Gabriel as a member of the Human Rights Commission, Mr David Esparon from the Attorney General's Chambers and Mr Elvis Chetty represented the Bar Association of Seychelles.
The group aims to look at ways to improve on the speed and efficiency of the Criminal Justice System. In the meeting, discussions focused on the difficulties concerning the service of summons by the police and whether this process should be privatized. Also discussed were a number of criminal cases in which the victims seems to have lost interest with the case and are now unwilling to give oral evidence in court, thought was given as to whether the Attorney General should consider withdrawing these cases, which could help clear up the court's time.
One of the main issues discussed was that of Legal Aid reform as proposed by the Chief Justice during his speech at the opening of the Supreme Court last September. The proposal centres on the elimination of the current legal aid regime in which a lawyer is paid by the number of appearances in court, leading certain lawyers to apparently deliberately prolong a case so that they could earn more fees. The new proposal would set a fixed fee for a particular case, regardless of the number of court appearances. It is hoped that the implementation of the proposed new legal aid scheme would help speed up the disposal of criminal cases.
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posted 22 Oct 2011 12:10 by Bar Association of Seychelles
Meeting Between Executive Members of the Associations
Executive Members of the Zhejiang Provincial Lawyers Association of the Zhejiang Province of the People's Republic of China called upon the Bar Association of Seychelles ("BAS") on the 13th of October 2011. The Zhejiang delegation comprised of Mr Dang Yiheng (Vice President), Mr Wu Qiangjun (Consultant), Mr Yu Baisheng (Vice Secretary) & Mr Wang Jin (Partner of Zhejiang Junan Century Law Firm). The Bar Association of Seychelles was represented by Mr Divino Sabino (Secretary), Ms Teresa Micock (Treasurer) & Mr Frank Ally (Executive Member).
From left to right: Mr Yu Baisheng, Mr Wu Qiangjun, Mr Dang Yiheng & Mr Wang Jin.
Executive members of both associations spoke of their roles within their respective countries and legal systems and prayed that this initial contact would be the start of a long lasting and mutually beneficial relationship between the members of both of their associations.
Mr Dang Yiheng, the Vice President of the Zhejiang Provincial Lawyers Association presenting Mr Divino Sabino, the Secretary of BAS with a present from Zhejiang.
The Zhejiang delegation stated that there were some 930 law entities in the Zhejiang Province, of which around 650 were partnerships and around 270 were sole practitioners, this was in contrast to the Seychelles which has 2 partnerships and around 30 sole practitioners. It was also interesting to note that Zhejiang had around 10,000 lawyers for a population of 60 million people and that Seychelles has around 50 lawyers for a population of 90 thousand. This means that there is 1 lawyer in Zhejiang per 6,000, whilst in Seychelles there is 1 lawyer for every 1,800 persons.
The meeting was held at the law firm of Pardiwalla Twomey Lablache. |
posted 13 Oct 2011 12:21 by Bar Association of Seychelles
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updated 13 Oct 2011 12:23
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The Office of the Vice President of the Republic of Seychelles, in conjunction with the World Bank held a training workshop from the 26th to 28th September 2011 at the STC Conference Hall. Amidst dignitaries and distinguished guests, the Honourable Vice President Mr Danny Faure delivered the opening remarks, stressing the need for the country to continue to tackle money laundering issues.
After the opening session, World Bank experts on prosecuting money laundering offences gave detailed lectures on the international regime, standards and institutions involved in the fight against money laundering. Delivering the initial lecture, Mr Yves Aeschlimann, Senior Financial Sector Specialist of the World Bank, stressed that battling money laundering is also a fight against criminal activity in general and the funding of terrorism.
The World Bank's Mr Jean-Pierre Brun & Mr Yves Aeschlimann addressing the participants
Thereafter, Mr Jean-Pierre Brun, Senior Financial Specialist of the World Bank delivered a lecture on the particulars and elements of the money laundering offence, introducing participants to the international initiatives to combat money laundering and the need for international cooperation amongst the various local agencies.
There was also a presentation by Ms Beatrice Hamza Bassey of the New York law firm of Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLC, the firm who represented the Government of Seychelles and its employees and agents in the lawsuits filed before the New York courts by parties that were prosecuted/pursued in Seychelles for money laundering related offences, on the probable reasons (on grounds of inconvenient/improper forum) why the lawsuits were voluntarily withdrawn by the claimants against the Government of Seychelles. The presentation also touched upon the US Alien Tort Act, which is the piece of law used by the claimants to bring a lawsuit in the US.
Mr Declan Barber, Deputy Director of the FIU also provided a lecture on the legal framework of Seychelles' anti-money laundering laws and presented noteworthy cases that the FIU has successfully dealt with, from suspected drug dealers to international gangs involved in mass scaleboiler plate scams to international arms trafficking.
Participants at the workshop comprised of officers and senior staff of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the Central Bank, the Ministry of Finance, the National Drug Enforcement Agency (NDEA) , the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, State Counsel from the Attorney General's Office and lawyers from the private bar. The rest of workshop dealt with specific issues that FIU investigating officers, Prosecutors and Judges are likely to encounter in the investigation, prosecution and adjudication of money laundering cases.
It is hoped that the workshop will increase the knowledge base of the relevant parties involved in tackling money laundering offences in the country.
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posted 9 Sep 2011 14:14 by Bar Association of Seychelles
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updated 9 Sep 2011 14:53
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The Seychelles Judiciary, with the Support of the Commonwealth Institute, organized a 2-day workshop on the 5th and 6th September at the International Conference Centre of Seychelles. The workshop was attended by members of the judiciary, the Attorney General's Office and members of the private bar. In his opening speech, Chief Justice Fredrick Egonda-Ntende summed up the purpose of the workshop as a forum to provoke discussion on the way forward for the judiciary with particular regards to the inherent delays in the civil justice system. Master John Wheeler of the Royal Court of Jersey, Chief Justice Egonda-Ntende of the Supreme Court of Seychelles & Mr Mark Guthrie of the Commonwealth Institute
Representing the Commonwealth Institute and co-ordinating the workshop was Mr Mark Guthrie. While the Master of the Royal Court of Jersey, Master John Wheeler, was brought in by the Commonwealth Institute to share his experiences with regards to judicial reform, especially given the fact that Jersey went through certain reforms in the relatively recent past. Master John Wheeler
Several issues were discussed and members of the bar were attracted to the practice of cases being managed by a Master which will set a case before a judge only when the matter was fit for hearing, instead of the current practice in which Judges of the Supreme Court handle a number of mentions/preliminary hearings on any given day. Master John Wheeler addressing the workshop delegates
However, by far the most interesting topic of the workshop was that of Alternative Dispute Resolution ("ADR"). A judge of the Supreme Court expressed the view that given the number of cases being filed in court and the current number of judges, a judge would have to dispose of cases at the rate of 1 case per working day in order just to maintain their case load. The answer must therefore lie in ADR to relieve the pressure off the Supreme Court. In particular, a lot of interest for mediation was expressed and the judiciary and the bar all agreed that the civil process will have to formally cater for mediation and that there must be formal training given to members of the bar to produce professionally qualified mediators. |
posted 21 Aug 2011 22:59 by Bar Association of Seychelles
The Office of the President announced that Justice Jacques Hodoul of the Court of Appeal, tendered his resignation from the bench on the 19th August 2011.
Justice Hodoul was called to the Bar at the Honourable Society of Middle Temple in 1973. He practised law in Seychelles up to 1977 before taking up Ministerial positions in the Government of Seychelles. He returned to practising law in 1993 before being elevated to the Court of Appeal bench in 2005.
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posted 3 Aug 2011 01:32 by Bar Association of Seychelles
Judge Shaun Lyons, CBE, of the Wood Green Crown Court in UK, met with members of the Seychelles Bar on Tuesday, 2nd August 2011. Judge Lyons is in Seychelles on the invitation of Chief Justice Egonda-Ntende with a view to improving the capacity of our courts criminal justice system.
His Hon Judge Shaun Lyons, CBE
In his meeting with the members of the Seychelles bar, Judge Lyons sought input from Seychelles lawyers on their belief for the causes of the difficulties encountered by the Seychelles' criminal justice system and he also sought the views of the bar on proposals for reform.
Judge Lyons pointed out that there appears to be a culture of adjournment in Seychelles and that there is no wasted costs regime to penalise parties unprepared for trial on the trial date. He pointed out that there must be trial date certainty but expressed surprise at how in a country of 80,000, it is so difficult to serve witnesses with summons when in London, with a population of 7 million, they manage to do so.
Members of the Seychelles Bar
He pointed out that there are too many "mentions" before judges and that in the Wood Green Crown Court, judges generally hear cases from the get go rather than spend a lot of time dealing with mentions as is the case here. He proposed that a single judge (or a Master) could deal with all mentions, motions and interlocutory matters and then then when a case is ripe for hearing it is then that it is allocated to a judge.
Members of the bar found the meeting useful and hope that some of the views expressed in the meeting will come to fruition.
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posted 27 Jul 2011 03:13 by Bar Association of Seychelles
The Judiciary in collaboration with UNDP has released a document providing the public with information on the role of the courts. It is hoped that the document will aid in dealing with misconceptions that members of the public may have about the role of the courts and Judges.
Document on the Role of the Courts
The document provides flow charts to illustrate the general litigation process in criminal and civil cases and also sets out hierarchy of courts and tribunals in the Seychelles Legal System. The documents are available from the judiciary.
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