A visit to the Kingdom of Section 3. The latest newsletter of July 06 of the Director of Public Prosecutions, broadcast in the form of a podcast on La Poudrière Voice, focuses on fundamental rights and individual freedoms and especially in this pandemic period. An enunciation that raises the great question “Do we have the right to impose vaccination?”
Mandatory vaccination is the heart of this newsletter. With the current pandemic crisis, several laws are giving rise to debate, and the Supreme Court will soon be called upon to pronounce itself on these legal provisions in order to better situate the general well-being of the population. He dissected chapter 2 of the Constitution composed of 19 sections, highlighting article 17, which acts as the key to this chapter on fundamental rights and individual freedoms. “The citizen has the right to section 17, if he feels aggrieved and feels that his rights have been violated, he can turn to the Supreme Court to claim his rights.” He takes as an explanation: “Just as the citizen has the right to freedom of expression but does not have the right to slander, disrespect others or defame another person.”
Commenting and questioning at the same time the measures and restrictions imposed by the government against the pandemic: “You can go to the beach, but you do not have the right to picnic, in order to avoid the spread of the virus. Do we have the right to impose vaccination? The answer is more nuanced,” says the DPP. He evokes 3 Keywords: Have existed, will continue to exist and without discrimination, which are the very foundations of section 3. He did not fail to recall that the Constitution was supreme over all other legislation and any provision in conflict with human rights would be null and void!
In support of his points, he recalled the 1984 case between the United Docks Company and the Government of Mauritius before the Supreme Court and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
Find the full DPP podcast by clicking on the link below:
This chapter 2 of the constitution can be consulted online, visit the wesite:
https://mjp.univ-perp.fr/constit/mu1968.htm#Chapitre_II._Protection_des_droits
