Attorney General's Office has said that the Attorney General advised the President against ratifying the bill of amendment to the Judicature Act as he maintains it contravenes the judicial ethics policy.
Attorney General's Office has said that the Attorney General advised the President against ratifying the bill of amendment to the Judicature Act as he maintains it contravenes the judicial ethics policy.
The bill seeks to reduce the number of judges on the Supreme Court bench from seven to five, and calls for the dismissal of two judges within twelve days of ratification.
The bill was submitted independently by ruling People's National Congress (PNC) MP for Holhudhoo Abdul Sattar Mohamed. It was passed on February 26, just two days after it was submitted.
However, based on advice from the Attorney General, President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has sent the bill back to parliament for reconsideration.
As per Attorney General Ahmed Usham's advice, although the bill states that the Judicial Services Commission must submit names of judges unfit for office to parliament within five days of ratification, Article 154(a) of the Constitution the JSC cannot propose the dismissal of a judge unless they act against judicial ethics.
He stated that while the JSC is currently conducting disciplinary investigations against two judges, he believes it would be against judicial ethics policy for them to submit names of judges unfit for office within five days before the investigations reach completion.
The amendment was proposed at a time when the Supreme Court is hearing a case on the revocation of a Constitutional amendment on MPs' loss of seat through party crossing or leaving the party they were elected through.
Supreme Court judges HusnuSuood, Dr Azmiralda Zahir and Mahaz Ali Zahir were suspended just fifteen minutes before a scheduled hearing in the case. HusnuSuood has since resigned.
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