Section 2: Interpretation

2. Interpretation In this Act— “authorised person” means a person to whom an authority is issued under section 26; “birth” means the issuing forth of a child, dead or alive, from its mother after the twenty-eighth week of pregnancy; “Central Civil Status Office” means the Civil Status Office set up in Port Louis and designated as such; “certificate”, in relation to any birth, death, marriage or any other civil status matter, means— (a) a certified extract of a manuscript entry in a register; or [Issue 8] C24 – 2 Revised Laws of Mauritius (b) a certified print out from a computer system; “Chagos Archipelago civil status records” means such copies as may have been duly certified by the Chief Officer of the Civil Status in the Seychelles of official documents recording the births, deaths and marriages that took place in the Chagos Archipelago from 1965 to 1973; “computer system” means any computer system specified in section 3 and used for the purpose of recording, processing and storing any civil status matter; “copy”, in relation to any entry, means a certified photocopy of the entry; “CPD” means the Central Population Database established under section 8B*; “CSD” means the Civil Status Database established under section 8A; “District Court Cash Office” means the cashier’s office situated on the same premises as a District Court; “entry”— (a) means a manuscript entry in a register or an input on a computer system recording a civil status matter and containing such particulars as may be specified in this Act; and (b) includes the particulars of births, deaths and marriages in the Chagos Archipelago civil status records; “infectious or contagious disease”— (a) means a disease prescribed under the Public Health (Infectious or Communicable Diseases) Regulations 1987; but (b) does not include Human Immuno Deficiency Virus (HIV) Infection and Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS); “marriage” means a civil or religious marriage; “Minister” means the Minister to whom responsibility for the subject of civil status matters is assigned; “Muslim Family Council” means the Council established under section 29; “NIC number” means the number generated by the Civil Status Database; “office” means a Civil Status Office; “officer” means a Civil Status Officer and includes any person appointed under section 4; “public sector agency” has the same meaning as in the Business Registration Act; “register”— (a) means any register required to be kept under section 5 in relation to the registration of any civil status matter; and (b) includes— (i) any input on a computer system; C24 – 3 [Issue 8] Civil Status Act (ii) any print out from a computer system bound together so as to constitute a register; “unauthorised person” means a person recognised by his religion as having authority to celebrate marriages according to his religion and who, for a marriage, is assisted in accordance with section 28. [S. 2 amended by Act 9 of 1984; Act 2 of 1987; Act 45 of 1990; Act 8 of 1997; s. 3 of Act 40 of 2001 w.e.f. 1 September 2003; s. 3 of Act 22 of 2004; s. 2 (a) of Act 1 of 2008 w.e.f. 12 April 2008; s. 8 (a) of Act 9 of 2015 w.e.f. 15 February 2016.] PART II – GENERAL PROVISIONS