11 - Impartial Adjudicators?

Summary

Seychelles is a small island state with a hybridity of citizens, language, and culture. Its heritage of double colonisation has resulted in a complex blend of the French civil tradition and English common law. Litigation and adjudication in Seychelles have demanded knowledge of both legal traditions and necessitated the recruitment of judicial officers from outside the jurisdiction to complement the limited pool of locally available judges. This chapter considers the substantive and procedural constitutional provisions for the appointment of both Seychellois and foreign judges to the judiciary of Seychelles, the ratio of foreign judges to Seychellois judges, and how Seychellois view foreign judges and whether their perspectives on the role of foreign judges is substantiated by evidence. Examples of some of the difficulties experienced by the appointment of foreign judges are given, together with a reflection on whether these issues are specific to foreign judges or apply to judges generally. Finally, the continuing role of foreign judges in the Seychellois judiciary is explored together with an assessment of their contribution to, and/or diminution of, the judicial and legal landscape.