The present Parliamentary Counsel of the Republic of Mauritius is Mrs Ourveena Geereesha TOPSY-SONOO.

Mrs Ourveena Geereesha Topsy – Sonoo holds an LLB(Hons) from the University of Leicester. She was called to the Bar of England and Wales and was also called to the Mauritian Bar. She holds an LLM in International Maritime Law from IMLI (Malta).

Role of the Parliamentary Counsel

​The Parliamentary Counsel is mainly responsible for the drafting and vetting of legislation. All Government Bills and Regulations are vetted by the Parliamentary Counsel.

Once Government approves proposals for new legislation or amendments to existing legislation, the Parliamentary Counsel is then requested to prepare a Bill or regulations based on the drafting instructions of the particular Ministry concerned or to vet a Draft Bill or Regulations submitted by that Ministry. It is worth noting that the Parliamentary Counsel does not make policy decisions but drafts legislation as per the instructions received, and also advises the Executive as to how its policy objectives can best be achieved within the ambit of what is legally sound and/or possible. When a draft Bill is finalised to the satisfaction of the parties concerned, it has to secure approval of Cabinet before being presented to Parliament.

The Parliamentary Counsel advises the National Assembly on law-making procedures and attends every sitting of Parliament when the Bill is being debated to ensure that all the procedures are complied with and to deal with any legal issue that may arise either in relation to the substance of the Bill or to the passing of it. ​

Role and  Responsibilities: To be responsible for the overall superv1s10n and effective management of the Parliamentary Counsel Office and to assist the Office in fulfilling its mandate.

Duties:                  

1. To ensure the effective day-to-day management of the Parliamentary Counsel Office.
2. To draft, revise and amend legislations.
3. To attend sittings of the National Assembly and to prepare committee stage amendments to Bills.
4. To provide input to and to draft replies to Parliamentary Questions and to supervise attendance in meeting in relation thereto.
5. To devise and ,design legislative drafting programmes and courses for the staff.
6. To lead, coach and guide staff under her supervision.
7. To supervise the drafting of primary and subsidiary legislations and other legal documents.
8. To provide legal advice to Ministries/Departments and other relevant authorities.
9. To appear in Court, as and when required by the Solicitor-General
10. To use ICT in the performance of her duties.
11. To perform such other duties directly related to the main duties listed above or related to the delivery of the output and results expected from the Parliamentary Counsel in the roles ascribed to her.