Human Right’s Commission - Nicole Tirant-Gherardi sworn in as new chairperson |15 July 2017

Ombudsman Nicole Tirant-Gherardi is the new chairperson of the Human Right’s Commission.

She took the oath of allegiance and the official oath as she was sworn in the presence of President Danny Faure, Vice-President Vincent Meriton, Designated Minister Macsuzy Mondon, secretaries of State and other guests.

Mrs Tirant-Gherardi was sworn in as Ombudsman on March 30, 2017. The Commission has the power to listen to cases where a person feels that his /her constitutional rights have been affected and to make recommendation and suggestions to address the issue but evidently the person’s right to seek damages stays with the court as the commission does not award damages.

Apart from chairperson Tirant-Gherardi, the commission has former judge Ranjan Perera as the other member. A third member has resigned.

As the chairperson of the Human Right’s Commission, Mrs Tirant-Gherardi says that the Commission will only be as effective as the information that it makes available to the public and it can do that in its final report at the end of the year but the Commission needs to show that it has effectively done something out of the number of cases that it has received for the awareness of the public.

“I think that where I would like to go would be to build the basis for the public to better understand what they can expect out of the Commission… because people sometimes comes to the Commission and think that the Commission will act as the legal chambers and it doesn’t always work that way. We have the judiciary that will do its work and the Commission that will do its work. But recommendations need to come out and clear parameters of what can be expected of citizens and each other, need to come out from the Commission and that is where I would like to add value to it,” she said.   

The appointment of Ombudsman Tirant-Gherardi as the chairperson of the Human Right’s Commission is in accordance with the constitution which makes provision for the Ombudsman to take chairmanship of the Commission. This comes under section (3) paragraph (1) sub paragraph (3) of the protection of Human Right’s Act 2009 which provides for the chairperson of the Human Right’s Commission to be the person appointed as an Ombudsman under article 143 paragraph (1) of the constitution. The protection of Human Right’s Act 2009 also makes provision for the President of the Republic to appoint a chairperson and other members of the Commission in consultation with the chief Justice and the speaker of the National Assembly and for such department be published in the official gazette.

Mrs Tirant-Gherardi holds a Bachelor of Law Degree from the University of Liverpool in the U.K. She is an experienced Seychellois Barrister and Attorney-at-Law, with a special interest in criminal defence and appeals, family law, employment law, and international trade issues. From 1999 to 2010 she worked as the secretary general of the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI). Mrs Tirant-Gherardi was also the News Editor and founding member of TODAY Publishers.

A new law for the separation of the Ombudsman and the Human Right’s Commission as two different bodies in future is being drafted for the approval of the National Assembly.