LALIT member Lindsey Collen Acts in Name of All Spouses Not Born Here and their Families
01.10.2022
Lindsey Collen, a leading LALIT member, yesterday lodged a Constitutional Case against the State in the name of all spouses not born in Mauritius, and their families. She was born abroad and, as readers know, is married to leading LALIT member Ram Seegobin, who was born here. They settled in Mauritius in 1974.
Her Plaint with Summons, as the document is called, says the new law she is challenging threatens the citizenship rights of men and women spouses born elsewhere. She says they can all, like her, be stripped of their Mauritian citizenship without any reason being given, and without any right of appeal. This would totally disrupt their lives, the lives of their spouses and entire families.
At the same time, the new law nullifies the previous constitutional right for a spouse from abroad to reside with their family in Mauritius. This leaves thousands of families in a precarious situation.
As everyone knows, young Mauritians go abroad to study and work, and many marry people born elsewhere and found a family. Such families obviously need the right of residence in either country and the right to acquire citizenship on the basis of their marriage in either country. It would be hard to find a Mauritian extended family which does not have members already married to someone born elsewhere, or who could soon marry someone born elsewhere. Many live here and others intend to return with their families. We are thus all directly concerned.
At the same time, there are increasingly right-wing Governments all over the world, which risk imposing their own xenophobic laws. Italy, to give just one example, now has an extreme right Government with links to fascism, and we all know how many Mauritians live and work in cities like Milan. The UK has a right wing government, while the extreme right political current has become very strong in France and other European countries where Mauritians live and marry.
Two months ago, the MSM-led Government passed a new repressive law that amends Mauritian citizenship.
It is a “consequential amendment” to another law and it reads: “ ... the [Prime] Minister may, in his absolute discretion and without giving any reason, deprive any person of his citizenship of Mauritius, if he has reliable information and is satisfied that it is in the interest of defence, public safety or public order.”
Lindsey Collen is challenging this law. She “avers” in her case that the new law is inconsistent with the Mauritius Independence Order of 1968 and its Constitution of Mauritius, especially Sections 1, 2, 3, 15(1), 16, 21, and 24, as well as being inconsistent with the separations of powers principle and the rule of law, and with principles of natural justice, as well as being inconsistent with someone’s protection from the law.
And calls for the relevant sections to thus be declared inconsistent with the Constitution and thus “void” to the extent of their inconsistency. (Readers can find the Constitution and look up the sections by googling “Constitution of Mauritius”.)
The constitutional case was lodged in the presence of two Muvman Liberasyon Fam members, Ragini Kistnasamy and Rajni Lallah, at the new Supreme Court building in Port Louis. Attorney Ayesha Jeewa lodged the case. Barristers Antoine Domingue S.C. and Jean-Claude Bibi represent Lindsey Collen.
LALIT supports this case. LALIT calls for the Prime Minister to repeal the sections of the law that we are challenging in Court.
The Muvman Liberasyon Fam also does. The MLF distributed a communiqué in support of Lindsey’s case to the Press present outside the Court. To be uploaded soon.
