Democracy and Political Governance the exact lengths of sentences (a function of the judiciary) in order to respect the principle of separate powers. [Parliament] • The government reviews the arrangement whereby appeals go to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom. [Government] • The government reviews the hierarchy of courts by: o Ensuring that poor litigants are supported financially if appeals continue to be referred to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom. o Ensuring that the Supreme Court, which hears civil and criminal appeals, becomes the highest court in the land and that the chief justice heads it. o Ensuring that a deputy chief justice heads the Court of Appeal, which also hears civil and criminal law appeals. o Ensuring that: (i) the High Court is expanded to include the five divisions that the Mackay Commission recommended; (ii) these divisions deal with constitutional and administrative law, commercial law, civil law, criminal law and family law; (iii) the Industrial Court, as a sixth, but separate and specialised, division is formed at this level; (iv) Industrial Court appeals go to the Court of Appeal; and (v) high court judges head these courts. (The government had created the five divisions by July 2009, but as parts of the Supreme Court). o o Establishing chief magistrates’ courts to replace intermediary courts. Establishing magistrates’ courts to replace district courts. [Government] • The judiciary establishes a judicial education institute to manage the ongoing education of magistrates, including the initial training and orientation of newly appointed magistrates. [Judiciary] Objective 5: i. 114 Chapter 3 Ensure the accountability, efficiency and effectiveness of civil servants and other public office holders Summary of the CSAR Chapter 3 Democracy and Political Governance 222. The CSAR emphasises that a dynamic, efficient and accountable civil service is essential for promoting the economic and social wellbeing of any country and its citizens. In addition to an introduction, the CSAR covers: • • • • • • 223. The CSAR notes that the ‘civil service’ is the permanent administrative mechanism of the government. The main functions of the civil service are to: (i) assist government to develop public policy; (ii) support ministers in their missions; (iii) implement policy efficiently and effectively; and (iv) provide quality service. The Mauritian civil service has 22 ministries and 53 departments. It has 50,900 members. 224. The CSAR then deals with recruiting and promoting civil servants. It gives details of the roles of the Public Service Commission (PSC), the DFSC and the Local Government Service Commission (LGSC). It describes how they are appointed and describes their objectives, points out that they may delegate their powers of appointment, and describes appeals to these commissions. The CSAR also reports on its analysis of responses from stakeholders on various aspects of the three commissions. The following points are significant: 48 per cent of respondents felt that the promotion process in the public service is not transparent or based on merit, while 46 per cent thought that the process of awarding incentives, like bursaries and specialised training, is not transparent. Although there are no statistics, respondents believed that there is too much political interference in recruiting and promoting, although there are clear rules and regulations for the processes. They expressed regret that systematic political interference has caused civil servants to become frustrated, unhappy and demoralised. This has meant that services to the public are below standard. The respondents gave an example of a recent case where the court invalidated the appointment of four deputy rectors because the PSC’s procedures and regulations were not followed. 225. However, the CSAR notes that the secretary of the PSC and the DFSC has pointed out that the appropriate mechanisms – like prior approval of selection panels, monitoring of the recruitment process by the The civil service. Recruiting and promoting civil servants. Public sector reforms. Oversight mechanisms for the civil service. Current reforms in the civil service. Recommendations to achieve the objective. 115