Mauritius amends criminal code protecting territorial sovereignty

14 Juillet 2020

Port Louis, Mauritius, July 14 (Infosplusgabon) – Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth was due on Tuesday to present before Parliament an amendment to the Criminal Code to criminalise, inter alia, the production or distribution of an article, an object or a document that conveys misleading information about, or misrepresents, the sovereignty of Mauritius over any part of its territory.

In an explanatory memorandum, the government said that any person who, purporting to act on his own or under the authority or instructions of, or pursuant to a contract with, a foreign State or any organ or agency of such a State, or any other person – (a) produces, distributes, supplies or markets any article, object or document which, in any manner, misrepresents or conveys misleading information to the public about the sovereignty of Mauritius over any part of its territory; or (b) gives any instruction for the production, distribution, supply or marketing of any such article, object or document, shall commit an offence, unless he proves that he acted with the express approval of the Government of Mauritius.

Furthermore, any person who commits an offence shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding 5 million rupees (about 125,000 US$) and to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years.

It also mentioned that any act alleged to constitute an offence and which is committed outside Mauritius by a person shall, regardless of whether or not the act constitutes an offence at the place of commission, be deemed to have been committed in Mauritius also.

FIN/ INFOSPLUSGABON/ANK/GABON2020

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