Supreme Court annexe at Ile du Port officially opens |10 April 2015

The Supreme Court annexe building which will be served mostly to hear piracy and maritime crime cases was officially opened yesterday afternoon.

The two-storey ultra-modern court complex has been donated to the people of Seychelles by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

It has been funded by the government of the United Kingdom, the Royal government of the Netherlands and the Trust Fund of the Contact group on Piracy.
The foundation stone for the construction of the complex was laid in August 2013.

The new complex comprises two large courtrooms, two judges’ chambers, registrar’s room, purpose built holding cells for detainees, witness waiting areas, lawyers’ meeting rooms among other facilities.

Its special architectural design with Greek columns nicely blends with the architectural design of the Palais de Justice.

Acting Chief Justice Durai Karunakaran unveiled the plaque and cut the ribbons to officially open the complex. Before that he had received the keys to the building from British High Commissioner Lindsay Skoll and UNODC regional representative for Eastern Africa José Vila del Castillo.

Present to witness the event was Vice-President Danny Faure, various ministers, the Speaker of the National Assembly Dr Patrick Herminie, members of the diplomatic corps, other distinguished guests, judges, lawyers and other members of the judicial profession as well as staff of the judiciary.

Addressing guests prior to the opening of the building Justice Karunakaran, on behalf of the government, the judiciary and people of Seychelles expressed deep gratitude to the different foreign donors and partners for their unwavering support and for generously funding the project.

“The opening of the Supreme Court annexe marks the culmination of steps taken over the past five years to establish Seychelles as a unique and leading jurisdiction for combating piracy in the region,” Justice Karunakaran said.

But Justice Karunakaran stressed that the new facility is an extension to the Palais de Justice, the centre of judicial excellence in terms of infrastructure and technology.

Guests being led on a guided tour of the complex

“However this is not an end in itself as our real challenge remains to ensure that our work processes, services, and professional conduct of all players in the administration of justice rise to the same level,” said Justice Karunakaran.

For his part, Mr Castillo remarked that the building is proof of the trust and faith the Seychelles government has placed in the UNODC to deliver a structure in line with the prestigious landmarks around namely the Palais de Justice and the National Assembly building.

“This trust has not been built overnight, the UNODC and the government of Seychelles have a long standing relationship that has weathered the test of time,” he added.

He went on to say that the UNODC has delivered close to US $5 million worth of projects in five years in Seychelles alone. These projects range from infrastructure development, such as this magnificent court building, to a 60-bed prison block at the Montagne Posée prison. UNODC has provided equipment support such as radar equipment and a police radio network providing total coverage across the inner islands. Just in the last six months UNODC has equipped the judiciary with court recording equipment, court furniture, computers, printers and scanners and is currently upgrading the computerised court administration system to name but some.

Mr Castillo further noted that the relationship between Seychelles and the UNODC has not been a one-way street.

“Seychelles has continued to play a vital role in combating maritime piracy off the coast of Somalia. In the last four years Seychelles has completed 16 piracy trials with one trial ongoing. In addition there have been two appeal cases with several others awaiting hearing,” he added.

“Seychelles has tried 142 suspected pirates and convicted 138 on charges of piracy. Seychelles has been in the forefront in developing jurisprudence on modern maritime piracy,” Mr Castillo said, noting that the wealth of experience and depth of knowledge of judges in Seychelles on maritime piracy is unprecedented and not paralleled anywhere else.

“We would like to reassure you that the decline in piracy attacks is by no means the end of our journey or our relationship,” he pointed out.

When it was her turn to address everyone present Mrs Skoll said “while it has been money from different donors which paid for the construction of the building, it is the tenacity and capability of Seychelles’ senior leadership which encouraged us to make it happen.”
Following the opening of the building different members of the interfaith council recited prayers of blessings before Justice Karunakaran led guests on a guided tour of the new court complex.