JSC against appointment of Faiz to Supreme Court bench
The JSC released a press statement announcing their decision against the endorsement of the president's nominee, Ahmed Faiz Hussain, to the supreme court bench.
Ahmed Faiz Hussain, former chief justice of the Supreme Court
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has recommended against the appointment of former chief justice Ahmed Faiz Hussain to the Supreme Court bench.
On Thursday, the JSC released a press statement announcing their decision against the endorsement of the president's nominee, Ahmed Faiz Hussain, to the supreme court bench. Explaining the reasoning behind their decision, the JSC referred to a report compiled by an inquiry committee of the commission.
The report states that the former chief justice, during his previous tenure at the Supreme Court, had issued unconstitutional verdicts outside of his jurisdiction that interfered in the decisions made by other state authorities. Hence, the report concluded with a recommendation against the appointment of Faiz to the Supreme Court bench.
The JSC revealed that, based on the report, the commission decided to advise the president against his nomination for the Supreme Court bench at a commission meeting on Wednesday.
During President Yameen's administration, the legislation regarding the supreme court was amended, reducing the number of members on the bench from seven to five. The amendment was ratified after former president Yameen dismissed then-chief justice Ahmed Faiz and Judge Ahmed Muthasim Adnan from the Supreme Court bench.
The amendment has since been reversed, bringing the total number of seats on the bench back to seven. The bench currently comprises of Dr Azmiralda Zahir, Aisha Shujoon Mohamed and Mahaaz Zahir- who was appointed recently; Mahaaz was appointed following Justice Abdulla Didi’s dismissal, while the other two were appointed the parliament approved to increase the bench from five to seven.
Ahmed Muthasim Adnan and Husnu Suood were appointed for the vacancies left behind by former Chief Justice Ahmed Abdulla Didi and Justice Adam Mohamed Abdulla. Both justices were dismissed through parliament on November 18 for disciplinary issues. While Justice Abdulla Didi was dismissed in August last year, Justice Abdulla Areef retired in November.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih announced, in December last year, that his nominations for the vacancies on the Supreme Court bench was forwarded to the JSC for further review. While Faiz was one of the president's nominees, the second nominee is a Judge of the High Court, Abdul Rauf Ibrahim.
