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Male: The Maldivian Parliament has referred an amendment to the Judicature Act, which proposes reducing the Supreme Court bench from seven to five justices, to the Judiciary Committee for further examination, state-run media said on Monday.
“This decision was prompted by President Dr Mohamed Muizzu’s recent return of the bill for reconsideration. During today’s session, his letter detailing the reasons for reconsideration was presented to members, setting the stage for a vote that saw the bill redirected for additional scrutiny,” the Public Service Media (PSM News) said.
Earlier on March 11, Muizzu had formally sent the bill back to lawmakers after consultations with the Attorney General’s Office (AGO).
The development comes on a day when the case of suspension of Supreme Court judges was submitted to the United Nations’ Human Rights Commissioner, European Union and Commonwealth.
“The cases were submitted to the international bodies by former Supreme Court Judge Husnu Suood, who resigned after being recently placed on suspension,” news portal Edition.mv said on Monday.
Suood appealed to the bodies to intervene in the case in efforts to uphold judicial independence in the Maldives, and to call on the government to recall the unconstitutional measures being taken against judges, the news portal said.
The case details the measures being taken against the judges, as well as the amendments now proposed to the Judicature Act on changing the compilation of the Supreme Court bench.
The Maldives Parliament on February 26 passed an amendment to reduce the number of Supreme Court judges from seven to five and hours later three top judges were suspended prompting the main opposition to allege misuse of the ruling party’s majority.
The suspension of the judges came shortly before a hearing on a petition to quash the constitutional amendment that disqualifies MPs for changing political parties was to take place, local media reports said.
A row erupted in Parliament as the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) accused the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) of using its absolute majority to completely disregard the concerns raised by Counsel General Fathima Filza regarding the bill.
The Edition.mv report said: “Suood alleged that the government is taking these measures in a bid to bring a halt to the case on revocation of the Constitutional amendment on MPs’ loss of seat which is being currently heard at the Supreme Court.”
He also recounted the chronological developments in this regard.
Meanwhile, the PSM News said, Ibrahim Falah, the majority leader and member of parliament representing Inguraidhoo, introduced the motion to refer the legislation to the Judiciary Committee.
During the debate that followed, the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) lawmakers spoke at length about the bill’s alignment with judicial reforms, defending its earlier approval. They pointed to the president’s letter, which outlined specific concerns, as a constructive step towards strengthening the legislation.
Opposition members reiterated their reservations, raising issues they had brought forward prior to the bill’s initial passage. Ultimately, the motion to refer the bill to the Judiciary Committee was passed with 50 votes in favour, and seven lawmakers opposed the move, the PSM News said.
President Dr Muizzu’s decision to return the bill followed a legal assessment by the AGO, it said, adding, the office concluded that while the Constitution and the Judicature Act require mechanisms to evaluate judicial competence in disciplinary cases, the proposed amendments fail to specify how such evaluations would be conducted.
The Judiciary Committee will now undertake a detailed review of the legislation to address these gaps, it added.
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