Supreme Court of Seychelles explained

The Supreme Court of Seychelles is the highest trial court in Seychelles.

It was created in 1903 by Order in Council, when it consisted of one judge who was the Chief Justice of the Court. Appeal cases with final judgments of the court in civil matters were transferred to the Supreme Court of Mauritius.[1]

When Seychelles became a Republic in 1976, a new Seychelles Court of Appeal was constituted which consisted of a President, two Justices of Appeal and the Judges of the Supreme Court as ex-officio members. Appeals to the court of Civil Appeal of Mauritius were abolished.

In 1993, under the new constitution, the judicial power of Seychelles is vested in the Supreme Court, a Court of Appeal, and such subordinate courts or tribunals that may be established by legislature. The Attorney-General and the judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President from a list of candidates prepared by the Constitutional Appointments Authority. The head of the Supreme Court, who is also the head of the Judiciary, is entitled the Chief Justice. The other judges of the Supreme Court are referred to as Puisne Judges.

Chief Justices of the Crown Colony

IncumbentTenureNotes
Took officeLeft office
Fury Alfred Herchenroder19031905(later Chief Justice of Mauritius, 1913)
Eric Blackwood Wright19051909
Alfred Karney Young19091913(afterwards Attorney General of Fiji, 1913)
Sir Ewen Reginald Logan19141919(afterwards Chief Justice of the Bahamas, 1925)
19201924(later Chief Justice of the Gold Coast, 1936)
Sir Justin Louis Devaux19241927(later Chief Justice of Mauritius, 1940)
Robert Vere de Vere19271931(afterwards Chief Justice of Grenada, 1931)
Patrick Joseph Stanislaus Walsh19311936
John Woodman OBE19431947
Malcolm Douglas Lyon19481957
Sir France Bonnetard[2] 19581966
Sir William Campbell Wylie19661970
1970?1976

Chief Justices of the Republic

IncumbentTenureNotes
Took officeLeft office
James Aiden O'Brien Quinn19761977 (Expelled; afterwards Chief Justice of Kiribati, 1977–1980; Botswana, 1981–1987)
Earle Edward Seaton19781989
Isaac Kobina Donkor Abban[3] 19901993 (afterwards Chief Justice of Ghana,1995)
Vivekanand Alleear19942009
Andrew Ranjan Perera2009
Martin Stephen Egonda-Ntende[4] 20092014 Durai Karunakaran served as acting Chief Justice from 2014 to 2015.
Mathilda Twomey2015 2020
Rony Goviden[5] 2020

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mathiot. Tony. The Judicial History Of Seychelles. 5 October 2017. Seychelles Ministry for Youth Sports and Culture. 5 October 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171005101338/http://www.pfsr.org/history-of-seychelles/the-judicial-history-of-seychelles/. live.
  2. Book: 10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u51949. Bonnetard, Sir (Nicolas Patrick) France, (20 Feb. 1907–9 Oct. 1969), Chief Justice, Seychelles, 1958–66 . Who Was Who . 2007 .
  3. Web site: Chief Justice Isaac Kobina Donkor Abban. Seychelles News. 19 February 2016. 25 February 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160225043104/http://www.seychelles-enews.com/March%205,%202012/top3_chief_justice_abban.html. live.
  4. Web site: First woman Chief Justice appointed in Seychelles. Seychelles News Agency. 18 February 2016. 1 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160301094730/http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/3484/First+woman+Chief+Justice+appointed+in+Seychelles. live.
  5. Web site: Bonnelame . Betymie . Seychelles' new Chief Justice sworn in, pledges, vows to keep justice at forefront . Seychelles News Agency . 9 November 2020 . 9 December 2020 . 28 November 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201128013456/http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/13832/Seychelles%27+new+Chief+Justice+sworn+in%2C+pledges%2C+vows+to+keep+justice+at+forefront . live .