Parliament accepts changes to Judges Act
The bill was accepted with 36 votes and has been sent to the parliament committee for evaluation
Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed
The amendment bill to the Judges Act which seeks to remove judges convicted of a criminal offence, has been accepted into parliament on Monday’s sitting.
It was accepted with 36 votes and has been sent to the parliament committee for evaluation; opposition MPs continue to boycott the sittings.
The bill will allow the removal of judges without a parliamentary vote called for by the constitution. It was proposed by ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM)’s deputy leader MP Abdul Raheem Abdulla.
Presently, a sitting judge can only be removed if the judicial watchdog finds him guilty of gross incompetence or misconduct and submits a resolution to be passed by a two-thirds majority of parliament.
MP Raheem’s bill coincides with the government’s arrest of two Supreme Court justices, who are accused of accepting bribes in a ‘conspiracy to overthrow the government’.
Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and Justice Ali Hameed were arrested following President Abdulla Yameen’s declaration of a state of emergency on 5th February, after refusing to implement a ruling issued by the Supreme Court four days earlier.
