1. Curriculum Vitae
Jean-Claude Bibi, Barrister & Legal Adviser
Residence: 10, Dauphine Street, Port Louis,Mauritius;tel: 230 208 4547;mobile: 230 5 259
6644
Office: 230 208 4074
e-mail: jcbbarristeratlaw@gmail.com;
klodzan@yahoo.com
Civil Status:
Date of birth: 24 April 1951 in Port-Louis, Mauritius. Married with four children.
Nationality: Mauritian
Educational and Professional Qualifications, Languages
B.A. (Honours) Law, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kent at Canterbury,
United Kingdom, (1971-1974). Studies included such subjects as labour law, public and
private international law, humanitarian law, economics, politics and government, theories of
economic underdevelopment.
Theses: A Study of the Social Formation of Mauritius: From Slavery to Neo-colonialism
(1974) and The Pertinence of the Marxist Theory of Alienation (1974).
Barrister-at-Law, Middle Temple, Council of Legal Education, London, United
Kingdom, (1974-1975). Called to the British Bar in November 1975 and to the Mauritian
Bar in December 1975.
Admitted in 1989 to practice as a barrister and solicitor before the High Court of
Australia.
Fluent (oral and written) in English, French and Kreol.
Presently : Private Law practice as a Barrister, Head of Bibi Chambers
Professional Experience – United Nations
December 1997-September 1999.United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western
Sahara (MINURSO), Laayoune, Western Sahara.
Senior Identification Commission Member: Interviewed and identified over three thousand
applicants to determine their eligibility to vote in the UN-sponsored referendum in respect of
the independence of Western Sahara or its integration with Morocco. Process took place in
presence of observers from the POLISARIO Front, Organisation of African Unity and the
Moroccan government. It involved eliciting testimony from nomadic tribal chiefs.

2. 2
February 1997-November 1997. United Nations Verification and Observer Mission in
Angola (UNAVEM III/MONUA).
Senior Legal Officer: Head of Legal Section and responsible for providing legal advice in
collaboration with UN Headquarters in New York to the Special Representative of the
Secretary-General of the United Nations (SRSG) and to all the sections (civilian and military)
of UNAVEM III/MONUA. Member of the SRSG’s Cabinet that supervised the administration
of UNAVEM III/MONUA.
Drafted, analysed and interpreted commercial contracts with private companies for the
procurement of services including air services to the United Nations in Angola. Prepared
memoranda to regulate relations and collaboration with other UN agencies and NGOs. Served
as chairman or member of several boards and committees. Attended meetings of the Joint
Commission (UN, Government of Angola and UNITA) to negotiate the end of civil war and
monitor the peace process. Regularly reviewed and interpreted the Lusaka Protocol and
collaborated with the Human Rights Section and Angolan Ministry of Justice.
Professional Experience- Legal, Political and Diplomatic
December 1975-April 1983, September 1992- January 1997, January 2001 - 2010: Barrister-at-
Law, private practice in partnership with a solicitor at Chisty Chambers, Port-Louis,
Mauritius: General legal practice as a barrister and specialising in social, labour law, and
international humanitarian law. Legal Counsel in numerous cases before the National Human
Rights Commission involving human rights issues, police brutality and discrimination against
women employees. Legal Adviser to the General Workers Federation (grouping some 55
Trade Unions). Assessor of the Permanent Arbitration Tribunal to settle industrial conflicts
including two general strikes. Member of the Executive Committee (1982) and Chairman ex
officio of the Bar Council of Mauritius.
December 1976-June 1981. National Legislative Assembly (Parliament) of Mauritius.
Opposition Member: Active parliamentarian participating in debates over a wide range of
economic, social and political issues. Member of several parliamentary selection committees.
Member of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and the International Association of
French speaking Parliamentarians.
April 1983-August 1983. Attorney General, Minister of Justice: Chief Legal Adviser to the
Government of Mauritius and Chief Administrator of the State Law Office. Assessed judicial
system in view of reforms. Supervised administration of courts, tribunals and other institutions.
Represented Mauritius at UN Ministerial International Conference on Human rights in Geneva.
December 1983-1990. High Commissioner of Mauritius to Australia: Diplomatic
representation. Dean of African Ambassadors (1988-1990) and Dean of Commonwealth
Ambassadors (1989-1990) in Australia.
April 1987-1990. Ambassador of Mauritius to Japan with residence in Australia:
February 1990-April 1990. High Commissioner of Mauritius to New Zealand with
residence in Australia: Diplomatic Representation

3. 3
June 1990-April 1992. Ambassador of Mauritius to the Republic of Madagascar:
Diplomatic representation.
Other Experience- Non-Governmental Organisations
1978-present. Ledikasyon Pu Travayer (Education for Employees), Port-Louis, Mauritius.
Member and former President of Ledikasyon Pu Travayer, (LPT) a twenty- three year old
NGO to promote adult literacy and the Kreol language, with special emphasis on the human
rights of employees, women and community organisations. Contributed weekly editorials to
Dorad, newspaper published by LPT in English and Kreol. Conducted workshops to train
volunteers to teach literacy and civil rights. Represented LPT at the Organisation of African
Unity 1Oth. Conference on Human and Peoples’ Rights, (Mauritius October 1996).
1996-present. Movement Against Communalism (MAC), Port-Louis, Mauritius. Founding
member of MAC, an NGO that publishes information and analyses to combat at grassroots
level ethnic discrimination and religious fundamentalism in order to promote tolerance.
2003-present: Founding member of JUSTICE (Association Against Violence by State
Agents), an NGO that militates against police brutality and violence against prisoners by
prison officers
2008-2010: Legal Adviser to the Rodrigues Regional Assembly, the autonomous Government
of Rodrigues Island, an overseas territory of the Republic of Mauritius. Responsible for
drafting legislation and regulations.
Publications
“The Best Loser System: A constitutional perversion of elections to Parliament and a
constitutional license to practise communalism as a political strategy”. (Mauritius 1996)
“Some Truths Are Dark”- A legal defence of author Lindsey Collen and a literary critique of
her novel, The Rape of Sita, Winner of the Commonwealth Prize, 1995, formerly banned in
Mauritius. Translated in Dutch, German and published in England, Germany, Holland and the
United States.
Numerous articles on legal, economic, social and political issues published in Le Mauricien
and L’Express, the two major Mauritian daily newspapers.
Countries Visited
Angola, Malawi, South Africa, Madagascar, Reunion Island, Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania,
Gambia, Senegal, United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain,
Germany, Russia, Japan, China, USA, Canada, North Korea, South Korea, Singapore, Hong
Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vanuatu, Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia,
Dubai, Ivory Coast.