Supreme Court re-opening to be a low-key affair |07 January 2022

The Palais de Justice

The Supreme Court will reopen on January 10, 2022 but without pomp or pageantry as had been the case in previous years.

The annual event usually marked by processions and other grand traditions will this year see its activities curtailed with limited guests in light of the recent spike in Covid-19 cases.

The reopening of the courts ceremony has been adjusted with guidance from Public Health to limit the number of attendees, and removing aspects of the event that do not have the required regulations in place to proceed.

This includes cancelling the procession of judges in central Victoria, the inspection of the guard of honour and the brass band outside the Palais de Justice building.

The event will still be celebrated with a church service at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Victoria attended by invited guests only. Members of the public can expect road blocks in the vicinity between the hours of 9am-10am that day in light of this event.

This will be followed by a motorcade from Church Street to the Palais de Justice, where the Chief Justice Rony Govinden will deliver his speech for the year under the Judiciary’s new theme for 2022 – ‘Embracing Change’.

Through his speech, the Chief Justice will set the tone for the judicial year, while also looking back on the courts’ achievements in 2021.

The court sitting will be aired live by the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation to further limit crowding and encourage Judiciary staff and the public to watch at home.

This is the second time the event is being affected by the pandemic; last year the event was postponed to February and the church service was not held due to the pandemic’s severity.

Conventionally, the entire event is attended by all judicial staff, registered lawyers, government and National Assembly members, the diplomatic corps, and members of the public among others.

Press release from the Judiciary