The Reopening of the Courts ceremony on Monday 10 January 2022 was marked by a church service at the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception, followed by the Chief Justice Rony Govinden delivering his speech for the year under the theme, “Embracing Change” chosen by the Judiciary. 

It was the first time that the President of the Republic, Vice President, and Speaker of the National Assembly attend this ceremony.

The church service included prayers and hymns in line with the themes of justice and embracing change, paired with beautiful songs performed by a choir comprised of judicial staff.

The Chief Justice then delivered his speech for the year in court room 1 of the Palais de Justice in the presence of  high government officials and media. The speech gave an overview of the past year with its many challenges of delivering justice in spite of a global pandemic, and the successes the Judiciary managed to achieve regardless – this includes hosting media trainings, roundtable discussions about access to justice amidst a pandemic, and other administrative advancements.

Chief Justice Govinden also had words of advice for his fellow colleagues about performing their duties as servants to the people and serving without any fear. He also gave some insight for the media on access to information and to guard against self censorship.

The full speech of the Chief Justice for the Reopening of the Courts 2022 can be accessed here.