Members of the public going by the Palais de Justice building would have noticed visual improvements of the exteriors as the Judiciary began the beautification project in October 2021; work is now underway to improve the interiors as well.
Renovations of the Palais de Justice’s courtrooms, judges’ chambers, and office spaces have officially begun as from Monday the 24 January 2022. The entire project of internal renovations, which is part of the wider beautification plan for the Judiciary, will take a total of four months and is done in phases beginning with Supreme Court rooms 5, 6 and 9 simultaneously.
Scheduled court appearances and hearings normally held in the courtrooms being renovated have been moved to alternate spaces identified inside the Magistrates Court building next to the Palais de Justice on Ile du Port.
The estimated time of renovations for three courtrooms combined is a total of 21 days. The Palais de Justice holds a total of nine courtrooms and a Court of Appeal courtroom, including office spaces to accommodate its various departments and staff.
The Chief Justice Rony Govinden has directed that the project be undertaken in a phase-by-phase approach to avoid having to close down the courts completely, thus avoiding any delays in hearing of cases.
In December 2021, the National Tender Board awarded the contract to Dubai Civil Engineering & Construction. The internal renovations include repainting all the walls in the entire building, and replacing all the floorings in the courtrooms and judges’ chambers. The project is costing SCR 1,976,531.00 (One million, nine hundred and seventy six thousand, five hundred and thirty one).
Since the building was donated to Seychelles by the Chinese government in 2013, no renovation works had ever been conducted to maintain the building.
Director of Operations and Logistics for the Judiciary, Paul Derjacques, is overseeing this entire plan with oversight of the Chief Justice’s office.
Judiciary’s Director of Operations and Logistics Paul Derjacques overseeing the internal works