Mauritius is a subtropical island in the Indian Ocean, strategically located at the crossroads of Africa and Asia, at 855 km east of Madagascar. The main city and capital of the country is Port Louis. Mauritius is independent since 1968 and has become a Republic in 1992.
The constitution of the country, which is based on the British parliamentary democracy, establishes a strict separation of powers between the three arms of government – the Legislative, the Executive and the Judiciary. The President of the Republic, who is elected by the National Assembly, is the Head of State. Executive power rests with the Prime Minister and a cabinet of 25 Ministers. The National Assembly is the supreme legislative body.
The main sources of law in Mauritius are the Constitution, the statutes (including regulations), the Criminal Code, the Civil Code, the Commercial Code, the Code of Civil Procedure, case law, and inter-national treaties.
Independence of the judiciary is guaranteed by the Constitution. The Supreme Court, which is the highest judicial authority, is a superior court of record and the principal court of civil and criminal jurisdiction. The Constitution has maintained the right of appeal against final judgements of the Supreme Court to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council of UK, as Mauritius remains a member of the Commonwealth.
Over the past 15 years, Mauritius has emerged as a unique investment destination and as a great place to do business. The country enjoys a vibrant economy, stable democracy and high living standards. Since independence in 1968, it has ambitiously moved from a small agricultural economy to a dynamic secondary sector (textile and tourism), to the services sector through global business activities and lately Business Process Outsourcing.
Numerous multinationals today use the country as a conduit to emerging economies, especially India and China. State-of-the-art telecommunications facilities link the island to major world capitals around the clock.
Transport links to the island are extensive, with air and sea links to both the main European Cities and the Far East. The travel time across the island is very short (between 30 and 60 minutes) depending on destination.
An array of well-established restaurants, hotels and leisure activities provide options for all tastes and generally all establishments are of a very high standard catering for both the high demands of the business sector as well as the discerning tourist. As such, visitors and expatriates will find an incredible amount of options for leisure facilities to cope with the demands and interests of the very cosmopolitan populations in all the islands - not least of course the high quality golf courses and wide variety of water based activities.
