Editing Politics of Mauritius (section)

==Judicial branch==
Mauritian law is an amalgam of [[French law|French]] and [[United Kingdom law|British legal]] traditions. The [[Supreme court|Supreme Court]]—a [[chief justice]] and five other judges—is the highest local judicial authority. There is an additional higher right of [[appeal]] to the [[Judicial Committee of the Privy Council#Overseas jurisdiction|Judicial Committee of the Privy Council]].<ref>Parvèz A. C. Dookhy, "[http://www.memoireonline.com/09/09/2702/m_Le-Comite-Judiciaire-du-Conseil-Prive-de-la-Reine-Elisabeth-II-dAngleterre-et-le-Droit-Mauricien.html Le Comité Judiciaire du Conseil Privé de la Reine Elisabeth II d'Angleterre et le Droit Mauricien] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714072156/http://www.memoireonline.com/09/09/2702/m_Le-Comite-Judiciaire-du-Conseil-Prive-de-la-Reine-Elisabeth-II-dAngleterre-et-le-Droit-Mauricien.html |date=14 July 2011 }}", [[PhD]] [[dissertation]], [[University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne]], 26 February 1997</ref> [[Judicial Committee of the Privy Council#Members|Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council]] have been located in Mauritius since the end of 2008, as part of a plan to lower the costs of appeal.

The present Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is, '''Rehana Mungly-Gulbul''' who succeeded '''Ashraf Caunhye''' in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |date=2021-11-17 |title=Rehana Mungly-Gulbul, First Female Chief Justice Of Mauritius |url=https://english.lematinal.media/rehana-mungly-gulbul-first-female-chief-justice-of-mauritius/ |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=Le Matinal |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Political controversies===

====2024 censorship of social media platforms====
On 31 October 2024, ahead of the general elections taking place on 10 November, the ICT Authority ordered telecommunication operators to block all social media platforms. This came in response to "concerns regarding illegal postings that may impact national security and public safety".<ref name="ICTA order to block social media">{{Cite web|date=1 November 2024|title=Government Censorship Until Elections|url=https://lexpress.mu/s/censure-gouvernementale-jusquau-d%C3%A9pouillement--539680|publisher=[[L'Express.mu]]}}</ref> Many Mauritians associated the "illegal postings" with the Missie Moustass audio leaks.<ref name="Missie Moustass audio leaks">{{Cite web|date=20 October 2024|title=Missie Moustass audio leaks|url=https://lexpress.mu/s/revelations-de-missie-moustass-ebouriffant-scandale-539376|publisher=[[L'Express.mu]]}}</ref>

====2024 Missie Moustass audio leaks====
{{Main article|Mauritius Social Media Ban 2024}}
In October 2024, weeks ahead of the general elections, an anonymous Facebook account by the name of Missie Moustass (Mauritian Creole for "Mr Mustache") released audio recordings allegedly made by the sitting government on political adversaries, journalists, diplomats, and lawyers. These recordings consisted of phone calls made over WhatsApp, as well as traditional mobile. Shortly after this series of leaks, the Facebook account was taken down.<ref>{{cite web |last=Moonesamy |first=S. |date=22 November 2024 |title=Mauritius Social Media Ban |url=https://www.elandsys.com/~sm/mauritius-social-media-ban.html |access-date=30 December 2024}}</ref> However, an account of the same name was then created on TikTok where the previous audio leaks were reposted, as well as new ones. Some of the people whose phone calls were recorded and subsequently released confirmed their validity, and that those conversations had indeed happened.<ref name="Missie Moustass: victims confirm conversations">{{Cite web|date=19 October 2024|title=L’écoute téléphonique à Maurice confirmée par "Missie Moustass"|url=https://lexpress.mu/s/lecoute-telephonique-a-maurice-confirmee-par-missie-moustass-539345|publisher=[[L'Express.mu]]}}</ref>

Eventually, the TikTok account was also blocked, after which Missie Moustass created a YouTube Account,<!--https://youtube.com/@missiemoustass?si=vHKhI7EvS2xBTAYJ--> which remained active afterwards. On 1 November 2024, Mauritius suspended access to social media platforms just 10 days before national elections, citing national security concerns amid a scandal involving leaked phone recordings of politicians. Opposition leaders condemned the move as an attack on freedom of expression and a desperate tactic by the ruling party ahead of the [[2024 Mauritian general election|November 10 election]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-01 |title=Île Maurice: les réseaux sociaux coupés à dix jours des élections, sur fond de scandale d'écoutes téléphoniques |url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/international/ile-maurice-les-reseaux-sociaux-coupes-a-dix-jours-des-elections-sur-fond-de-scandale-d-ecoutes-telephoniques-20241101 |access-date=2024-11-03 |website=Le Figaro |language=fr}}</ref>