State in Seychelles

The Constitution is the supreme law and protects rights including life, liberty, fair proceedings, expression, press freedom, peaceful assembly, association, privacy, property, equality and access to official information. Constitutional rights may be limited only under the Constitution and applicable law where the restriction meets democratic requirements. The President is both Head of State and Head of Government, holds executive authority and serves as Commander-in-Chief. The Cabinet advises the President on government policy. Ministries, departments, agencies and statutory bodies carry out public functions, while the Attorney-General serves as the principal legal adviser and has constitutional prosecution powers. The Constitutional Appointments Authority proposes or appoints holders of several constitutional offices. The National Assembly is unicameral. It passes laws, approves the budget and examines executive action through questions, motions and committees. The Finance and Public Accounts Committee examines reports from the Auditor-General. Elections and voting procedures belong to the separate electoral field, although the Electoral Commissioner is part of the wider institutional system. The Judiciary includes the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court and Magistrates' Courts. The Supreme Court also handles constitutional matters and serious criminal or high-value civil cases. Tribunals such as the Employment Tribunal, Rent Board, Family Tribunal and Juvenile Court address specific types of disputes. The Constitution provides for judicial independence, and urgent court access can be arranged through a duty judge. Legal aid may be available in Supreme Court matters when eligibility conditions are met. Seychelles has 26 administrative districts and 27 District Administration Offices. The Ministry of Local Government and Inner Islands and each District Administrator connect central government with district affairs, community participation, local programmes, public facilities and some emergency, security and cemetery coordination. The districts do not form a federal level with their own regional law-making powers; central institutions retain the main responsibility for legislation, funding and allocation of public resources. Public administration includes ministries, departments, divisions, government agencies, statutory corporations, government-controlled companies and other bodies exercising governmental functions. The Public Service Bureau manages civil-service policy, human resources, performance and administration. The Public Service Appeal Board hears certain complaints about appointments, promotions, discipline, termination and qualifications; constitutional time limits can apply, including a maximum six-month period for late appeals. Public money is managed through the Consolidated Fund. Withdrawals require constitutional or statutory authority, an Appropriation Act, a supplementary estimate or a contingency procedure. The financial year generally runs from 1 January to 31 December. Revenue and expenditure estimates are due within 30 days after the start of the financial year, while annual accounts and related fiscal, debt and reserve statements are due within 91 days after its end. The Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning, Trade and Investment leads budget and fiscal policy. The Seychelles Revenue Commission administers taxation, customs and related charges, and the Central Bank of Seychelles manages monetary policy, reserves, domestic price stability and financial-system soundness. Oversight is shared among several independent bodies. The Auditor-General audits public institutions and reports to the National Assembly, generally within 12 months. The Ombudsman can examine maladministration, fraud, corruption and human-rights violations after the relevant authority has usually been approached, with complaints generally subject to a 12-month limit. The Anti-Corruption Commission Seychelles investigates, prevents and prosecutes corrupt practices. The Information Commission handles access to information and data-protection oversight. Under the access-to-information process, an Information Officer normally responds within 21 days, while requests concerning life or liberty receive a response within 48 hours; internal review generally takes 15 days, followed by an appeal to the Information Commission and potentially the Supreme Court. Seychellois Creole, English and French are national languages. The official public sphere includes the Government Gazette, National Assembly records, government portals and official statistics. InfoCom supports transparency, accountability, participation and data protection, while the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation has a public-interest role and operates in the national languages. The Ministry of Homeland Security and Civil Affairs covers national security, public safety and law enforcement. The Seychelles Police Force handles internal security, public order and crime prevention. The Seychelles Defence Forces protect external security, territorial integrity and the exclusive economic zone, and can support civil-disaster or public-order operations when called by the President. The Seychelles Coast Guard has maritime search-and-rescue, maritime-law, environmental-protection and navigational-safety functions. Because Seychelles is an archipelago with a large maritime area, disaster management, maritime security and climate-related hazards have a direct effect on public administration and state responsibilities.