On the morning of Thursday 27th July 2023, the National Assembly hosted a Symposium under the auspicious theme “Our Constitution: To Better Serve a Modern Democracy, Ideas for Constitutional Review”. This event falls in line with the celebrations being undertaken by the National Assembly to commemorate its 30th Anniversary on the 30th of July this year.
Forming part of the distinguished panel, and giving eloquent presentations from all three branches, were the Speaker of the National Assembly Hon. Roger Mancienne, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court His Lordship Rony Govinden, the Minister for Transport Mr. Antony Derjacques on behalf of the Executive, the Leader of the Opposition Hon. Sebastien Pillay, and the Leader of Government Business Hon. Bernard Georges. The symposium was attended by the President of the Court of Appeal Hon. Justice Anthony Francis Fernando, Ministers, Members of the National Assembly, Honourable Judges and Justices, the Clerk and Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly, Final Year Law and related studies students of the University of Seychelles, and Secretariat Staff of the National Assembly, among other invited guests.
Following the welcoming remarks given by the Deputy Clerk Ms. Alexandria Faure, the Symposium was graciously opened by Hon. Speaker Mancienne, who gave a historical overview of the constitution and the Third Republic, before moving the focus on to the potential developments and future that Seychelles could one day see of the Executive, Judiciary and Legislative bodies. Hon. Mancienne emphasized the need to continue viewing the Constitution as a “living document”, which should evolve and continually change to represent Seychelles as fairly and accurately as possible. This was followed by an informative speech by Minister Derjacques, on the role of the Executive and the importance of the Constitution in guiding our nation. His Lordship Rony Govinden then took the floor and gave a detailed presentation on the Judiciary; this included vital talking points such as the development of administrative and financial autonomy of the three branches. The Leader of Government Business Hon. Georges gave an in-depth presentation on the Legislature and the vital role that the National Assembly plays in the separation of powers. Hon. Georges noted that the concept of the balancing of powers is one that is vital and is entrenched in the Constitution as a whole, which provides for the successful and separate operation of the Executive, Judiciary and the Legislative. The Leader of the Opposition Hon. Pillay delivered the final presentation, on the Complementary Institutions. This was centered on the implications of the Constitution, the various bodies that play a role in the administration of our country, the ways in which the three branches function in co-existence, and the importance of resource allocation for the work done by each body.
The presentations were then followed by an interactive session in which participants were able to freely ask questions to the panel, give suggestions, and make comments that fostered an ultimately fruitful discussion.
