Judge Bibi Rehana Mungly Gulbul was appointed Chief Justice of Mauritius on Tuesday, November 16, the first woman appointed to this position in the history of the country. For her part, Judge Nirmala Devat, who was number 3 in the judicial system will hold the position of Senior Puisne Judge (Deputy Chief Justice).
Bibi Rehana Mungly Gulbul was appointed Chief Justice by the President of the Republic of Mauritius, Pradeep Roopun, on Tuesday 16 November. The appointment will be effective from Thursday 18 November. She replaces Chief Justice Asraf Caunhye who retired on Tuesday, November 16, after 20 years at the Supreme Court of Mauritius.
Rehana Mungly Gulbul, 61, will be the 12th Chief Justice and the first woman to hold the position of President of the Judiciary, with a term expected to run from 2021 to 2027. She will be known as the Lady Chief Justice and will retire on April 27, 2027, at the age of 67.
The Chief Justice is the President of the Supreme Court of Justice and has precedence over all other judges in the Republic. In terms of precedence, the Chief Justice is second (after the Vice President) in line to succeed the President of the Republic in the event of removal, death or resignation until a new President is elected. The Chief Justice is also fifth in the order of precedence after the President, Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Vice President.
The judiciary of Mauritius currently has 23 judges, fifteen of whom are women judges.
“Lady Chief Justice”
After completing her primary education at the Phoenix Government School, where she achieved extremely high results, Rehana Mungly Gulbul joined Queen Elizabeth College for her secondary education and even became a laureate at the end. After studying law in England, she was called to the bar in 1983. Thereafter, she worked for five years in the Public Prosecutor’s Office as Crown Counsel, before joining the judiciary of the various district courts and that of Rodrigues. In May 2001, she was appointed President of the Intermediate Court and two years later she became the Deputy Master and Registrar and then rose to the position of Master and Registrar of the Supreme Court.
In 2008, Rehana Mungly-Gulbul was appointed as a judge and was sworn in by the former and late President of Mauritius, Sir Anerood Jugnauth. She rose through the ranks to become Senior Puisne Judge (Deputy Chief Justice) in 2020.
She was also appointed President of the Commercial Court.
Rehana Mungly Gulbul is the wife of the famous lawyer Raouf Gulbul. She is one of the 14 women who make up the team of 21 appointed judges.
Senior Puisne Judge
For her part, Judge Nirmala Devat, 60, was the number 3 in the Mauritian judiciary and becomes the number 2. She has a long career in the judiciary. She has worked in the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and served in various District Courts, before joining the Intermediate Court of Mauritius, where she became the President. She was promoted to the position of Judge in 2009.
Judge Nirmala Devat has presided over several trials that have made the news in Mauritius. She was one of the three judges, along with Justices Asraf Caunhye and Gaitree Jugessur-Manna, who sat on the commission of inquiry initiated against the former president of Mauritius, Ameenah Gurib-Fakim in the case of the Platinium Card. The work of this commission of inquiry had begun on August 6, 2018. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim had resigned on March 23, 2018.
