The Civil Court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the owner of the building housing the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Embassy in the Maldives, who was seeking over USD 92,000 (MVR 1.4 million) in unpaid rent.
The Civil Court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the owner of the building housing the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Embassy in the Maldives, who was seeking over USD 92,000 (MVR 1.4 million) in unpaid rent.
The UAE Embassy operated from three floors of a building called 'Niusha', located in Galolhu ward from May 1, 2020, to October 2022. At the time, the building was leased to another party under a construction-lease agreement, with whom the embassy had negotiated the lease.
In August 2022, ownership of the building was transferred back to the property owner, and the embassy informed the owner that it no longer wished to operate from the premises. However, the property was not vacated until October 2022, and the embassy had left its belongings in the building until then. According to the lawsuit, the embassy had failed to pay USD 42,900 in accumulated rent during this period.
The lawsuit also claimed that the embassy terminated the lease agreement without giving the required notice, which stipulated that three months of rent, amounting to USD 48,720, would be payable upon termination without proper notice. In total, the property owner sought more than USD 92,000 in rent and notice payments, plus legal costs.
The UAE Embassy attempted to submit the chargesheet forms and documents to respond to the claims, but they were unable to do so.
On Thursday, Judge Hafiza Abdul Sattar ruled that under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, embassies and high commissions are granted diplomatic immunity, which is also recognized in the Maldives' Civil Procedure Code. The code stipulates that entities with diplomatic privileges cannot be prosecuted in Maldivian courts.
The court ruled that the UAE Embassy enjoys diplomatic privilege and cannot be sued.
A similar case was previously dismissed when the owner of the building housing the Indian Embassy in the Maldives filed a lawsuit for non-payment of rent. The Supreme Court upheld that, as a signatory to the Vienna Convention, the Maldives cannot pursue legal action against foreign embassies in the country.
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