Professor Tarun Khaitan visits Mauritius at the invitation of the Mauritius LSE Society Trust Fund

Professor Tarun Khaitan visited Mauritius from 22–26 September 2025 at the invitation of the Mauritius LSE Society Trust Fund. Professor Khaitan holds the Chair of Public Law at the LSE and has previously served as the Head of Research at Oxford’s Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, as well as holding visiting positions at Harvard, Chicago and NYU. His work in comparative constitutional law and discrimination law has been influential globally, with citations by the Supreme Courts of India, Israel, Pakistan and Canada and the European Court of Human Rights. His publications include The Entrenchment of Democracy, Constitutional Resilience in South Asia, and A Theory of Discrimination Law.

During his visit, he delivered a keynote lecture—attended, among others, by the Honourable President of Mauritius—on “Constitutionalism in Mauritius” at the University of Mauritius and discussed the catalytic role that courts can play in advancing social and environmental rights. At the Institute of Judicial and Legal Studies, he also spoke on "Constitution making and the Principle of National Consensus". He went on to examine the principle of consensus, with reference to the recent judgment of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Noudehouenou v Republic of Berlin (Application 020/2020). Professor Khaitan also met various dignitaries including the Honourable Prime Minister of Mauritius and other ministers, judges of the Supreme Court, high-ranking civil servants, and academics, as well as LSE alumni, during his visit.

Professor Khaitan, who had been teaching the unique ‘best-loser’ electoral system used in Mauritius in his course on Constitutionalisms in the Global South at the LSE, described his time in Mauritius as a great opportunity to learn about the constitutional system of a deeply pluralistic island state that has—despite significant challenges—largely managed to maintain sectarian peace and a considerable degree of prosperity for its people.

[from left to right: Mr John Chung, Managing Partner of KPMG Mauritius and LSE alumnus; Professor Tarun Khaitan; Prime Minister of Mauritius Mr Navin Ramgoolam, also an LSE alumnus]