To mark eleven years of occupying its headquarters on the fourth floor of the Court View Building, Pope Hennessy Street, Port Louis, the Bar Council presented its new logo, a newsletter for the legal profession and a guideline for apprentice lawyers on Friday afternoon. Present at the event were Justice Minister Manesh Gobin and Director of Public Prosecutions Satyajit Boolell, former Chief Justice Bernard Sik Yuen, as well as Rashad Daureeawoo (Senior Counsel) who is also the President of the Middle Temple Association. The President of the Bar Council, Yatin Varma, explained that it was important for the Bar Council to undergo a ‘rebranding’. He said that the Bar Council wanted to demonstrate a new and evolved image of the organisation through this symbolism.
Attorney General Manesh Gobin announced that the government will move forward with the creation of a disciplinary tribunal for the legal profession. He spoke of the advent of an independent tribunal to look into complaints made to the Bar Council against some of its members. “I am confident that this bill will go to Parliament in a few months. The former Chief Justice knows all the difficulties involved in assembling a panel of judges to make up the disciplinary tribunal,” the Attorney General explained on Friday 30 July 2021. According to him, the disciplinary tribunal should be able to hear complaints from three branches of the profession (barrister, solicitor and notary) in line with the recommendations of the report by Lord Nick Phillips, former Chief Justice of the British Supreme Court. Former Chief Justice Bernard Sik Yuen welcomed the initiative of the newsletter, adding that the approach remains a commendable communication tool.
