Legal changes proposed to enhance civil justice system

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has submitted a bill to the Attorney General, aiming to amend the Civil Procedure Act to address delays and backlog in the civil justice system before it heads to Parliament for review.

According to JSC, civil cases have been piling up in courts ever since the Act came into effect in mid 2022. The office also said that cases have been delayed and judgements have not been enforced, causing unprecedented challenges to the system.

JSC's statement also said that this has negatively impacted banks, businesses and members of the public as well. These issues can only be resolve with temporary amendments to the law, it was also detailed.

As such, JSC has taken the initiative to layout the required amendments and has sent them to the Attorney General's Office.

The Civil Procedure Act has been the biggest obstacle in the way of Maldives enforcing court rulings. Although strict measures were taken against defaulters in the past, the current law does not take any action other than seizing the debtor's property. If there is no property, no further action can be taken. These concerns have been raised by the legal community in the past as well.