Meekail warns Judges Act amendment would give JSC greater power than Majlis

MP for South Galolhu constituency Meekail Ahmed Naseem has warned that the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) would gain more power than the People’s Majlis if the proposed amendment to the Judges Act is passed.

The amendment to the Judges Act of Maldives was submitted by Saudullah Hilmy, MP for North Thinadhoo constituency, who belongs to the main ruling People’s National Congress (PNC).

During the debate on the amendment, Meekail said that although President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu came to power claiming that "playing with the judiciary is over," not a single judge remains in the judiciary who is "not being played with" after one and a half years of his presidency.

The lawmaker stressed that Muizzu is influencing not only the judges but also the technical staff and all courts.

In addition to this, Meekail shed light on the inconsistency between the statements made by current Attorney General Ahmed Usham when he was a Member of Parliament and his current statements. He said that the statements made then about improving the JSC and judiciary are completely different from what he is asserting now, as the Attorney General.

Meekail has also criticized the dismissal of Supreme Court judges, which was done contrary to the advice of the Counsel General. He stated that while an investigation is ongoing regarding the judges, not a single question has been asked of those judges, implying that this is not an issue with the law itself. The lawmaker said this is an attempt to empower JSC and give it more influence.

The purpose of the bill, submitted on behalf of the government, is to ensure that judges are individuals who carry out their responsibilities in a manner that maintains the independence of the judiciary and the judicial position, as well as preserves the trust in the judicial system.

In addition to this, the bill aims to establish a code of conduct for judges in the law and to further detail the principles set in the law regarding the evaluation of judges' performance. It has also been stated that the bill intends to amend the Judges Act to maintain the independence of judges.

The bill proposes to set out in law the principles for transferring judges to courts other than those to which they were originally appointed, as well as the principles for temporarily assigning them to work in other courts. Revising the rules for judges to engage in business activities and submitting financial statements is also mentioned as an important purpose of the bill.

Further, the bill proposes to amend the section on activities that judges are prohibited from engaging in while in office. It also stipulates that if a judge does not conclude a case within one year of being assigned to it, the court must inform the Chief Judge and the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) of this fact, along with the reasons, and provide the details to the Chief Judge every month. Previously, this period was set at six months.