(i, "i�J\ ACHPR 1 ) African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights Human Rights our Collective Responsibility Communication 459/13- Devendranath Hurnam v. Republic of Mauritius Summary of facts 1. This Complaint is submitted to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (the Commission) by Devendranath Hurnam (the Complainant) who is a citizen of the Republic of Mauritius acting in person. It is submitted against the Republic of Mauritius (the Respondent State), a Party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (the Charter). 1 2. The Complainant states that he qualified as a Barrister and was called to the bar in 1975 in England where he also practiced briefly. He returned to Mauritius and was also called to the Mauritian Bar in the same year. He practiced law as a Barrister in Mauritius for a continuous period of 33 years. 3. In 2001 he was charged with two counts of knowingly receiving stolen property and one count of conspiracy to hinder police in an inquiry. The charges emanated from his representation of suspects in a bank robbery in 2000. It was alleged, quoad the two counts, that he knowingly received payment from the suspects out of the money robbed from the bank; and quoad the one count, that he and his client (robbery suspect) conspired to hinder police in an inquiry into the robbery by fabricating an alibi. In 2002 the first two counts were dropped. He was tried and in 2003 convicted of the conspiracy charge and sentenced to six months imprisonment by the Intermediate Court. 4. He appealed against the judgment of the Intermediate Court to the Supreme Court of Mauritius, which quashed the conviction and sentence. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) of the Respondent State appealed against the judgment of the Supreme Court to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) in the United Kingdom. He also lodged a cross appeal. After the hearing of the appeal before the JCPC and pending judgment, he introduced new evidence with a suggestion that the hearing of his cross-appeal should be re-opened. On 27 April 2007 the JCPC dismissed this new evidence and the suggestion to re-open the hearing of the cross1 The Charter came into force quoad Republic of Mauritius on 1 October 1992 in terms of Art. 65 of the inslrnment of ratification having been deposited on 1 July 1992 Page 1 of 45 Afric.an ,, Union\...!;/ African Commission on Human and Peopl 31 Bijilo Annex Layout, Kombo Nor West Coast Regi Phone: (220) 230 4361 Fax: (220) Email: au-banjul@africa­ https:/achpr.eu.in ·.. ·-\ /!