Generally, it is easy to determine what kind of legal system a country has. For example, most Commonwealth countries follow the common law system of England and Wales while others for example French tend to follow a civil law system.
However, regarding my home country, the Seychelles, the legal system has proven to be quite different. The Seychelles is one of the unique island states that employs a mixture of both common and civil law jurisdiction. Interestingly enough, this is so because the Seychelles was firstly a colony of France and later became a state under English rule. The sources of the law is therefore quite diverse. Firstly, there is the French Napoleanic Code in which the Civil Code was derived then there is common law which only seems to be applicable to criminal law. Even though the most powerful source of law in the Seychelles is through a body called the National Assembly, domestic case law can be used as precedent.
Clearly, with such a complex legal structure, it can be argued that there are many issues that have arisen in the past. For example, the fact that most Barristers or Attorney at Law (as we call them in the Seychelles) can qualify to practice law once they have a law degree and sat the BPTC exam in England and Wales, France or neighbouring Mauritius. However, this does not apply to other countries. Therefore, one is limited in terms of choice.
Personally, I am of the belief that perhaps it is of an advantage to Seychelles as lawyers who have practised in the aforementioned countries have a higher standing in society and have proved to be sharp minded individuals oozing in confidence with their exceptional advocacy skills. Hence, even with the critics that may exist, limiting places of study essentially works in favour of maintaining excellence in the judiciary. The same may be argued for the Courts but there is undoubtedly a need for new lawyers. Hopefully,Seychelles will see a surge of 'new blood' in the juduciary soon.
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