MAURITIUS
Another piece of legislation with the potential to restrict freedom
of expression is the “Outrage Against Religious Morality” Act. This
law allows anybody to go to the police and lay charges against any
person/s they accuse of insulting their religious feelings. It is, however, very rarely used.
SCORES:
Individual scores: 			

2,3,2,1,3,2,2,2,2,2

Average score: 			

2.1

1.4
Entry into and practice of the journalistic profession is 		
		 legally unrestricted.
ANALYSIS:
There is no restriction on entry into and practice of the journalistic
profession.
Individual scores : 			

5,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,4]

Average score: 			

4.9

1.5 Protection of confidential sources of information is
guaranteed by law.
ANALYSIS:
Mauritius has no legal protection for confidential sources of information or whistleblowers other than that spelt out in the Prevention
of Corruption Act (PoCA).
In this law, provision is made for the protection of a whistleblower
who reports a corruption or fraud case to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). This public institution is mandated
to fight fraud and corruption and can investigate such cases indeAfrican Media Barometer - Mauritius 2008			

7

Select target paragraph3