The present Parliamentary Counsel of the Republic of Mauritius is
Mrs Ourveena Geereesha TOPSY-SONOO.
Role of the Parliamentary Counsel
The Parliamentary Counsel is mainly responsible for the drafting and vetting of legislation. All Government Bills and Regulations are vetted by the Parliamentary Counsel.
Once Government approves proposals for new legislation or amendments to existing legislation, the Parliamentary Counsel is then requested to prepare a Bill or regulations based on the drafting instructions of the particular Ministry concerned or to vet a Draft Bill or Regulations submitted by that Ministry . It is worth noting that the Parliamentary Counsel does not make policy decisions but drafts legislation as per the instructions received, and also advises the Executive as to how its policy objectives can best be achieved within the ambit of what is legally sound and/or possible. When a draft Bill is finalised to the satisfaction of the parties concerned, it has to secure approval of Cabinet before being presented to Parliament.
The Parliamentary Counsel advises the National Assembly on law-making procedures and attends every sitting of Parliament when the Bill is being debated to ensure that all the procedures are complied with and to deal with any legal issue that may arise either in relation to the substance of the Bill or to the passing of it.
