State amends policy on court-appointed defence lawyers

The Maldivian government has on Monday announced changes to the policy under which courts appoint lawyers to those that cannot afford representation.

The state appoints lawyers, mostly from the Prosecutor General’s Office, after evaluating the financial and living situation of an individual, who is then evaluated on point basis.

As per the amendment, more points will now be granted based on the family situation of individuals, including the ages of their children and necessary household expenses, such as rent. These factors will now make up for a larger percentage of their point allocation process.

As such, individuals with children under the age of 18 and individuals who are required to pay hefty sums in rent relative to income will also recieve more points.

The change was announced through the government gazette.