Number of Supreme Court justices to be increased from five to seven
It is expected to be implemented within this ongoing tenure
Supreme Court bench
Work has begun to increase the number of Supreme Court justices from five to seven.
A reliable source told RaajjeMV that they are working to bring the required changes to the constitution to increase the number of Supreme Court justices.
Discussions have also been held with senior members of the main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s Parliamentary Group in order to draft the amendment.
This change is being brought in order to upgrade the court to one that fits the criteria under the constitution.
It is expected to be implemented within this ongoing tenure.
The bench initially had seven justices including the Chief Justice under the new constitution. However, the number was reduced to five during the administration of former President Abdulla Yameen who wanted to take the reins of the court, in 2014.
The amendment that was brought in 2014 allowed then-President Yameen to appoint and dismiss Chief Justices as well.
Justices who initially presided the bench were Ahmed Faiz Hussain who was dismissed from the post of Chief Justice, Abdulla Areef and Adam Mohamed who currently preside the bench, Abdulla Saeed and Ali Hameed who have been dismissed and Ahmed Abdulla Didi who is the current Chief Justice.
