JSC defends appointing Adam Mohamed as acting chief judge at Criminal Court

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) on Saturday defended its decision to appoint Judge Adam Mohamed as the acting head of the Criminal Court.

The judicial watchdog appointed Adam Mohamed last Tuesday after the previous acting head, Ali Rasheed, was appointed to the Supreme Court bench.

However, the commission's decision was later slammed by some as a violation of JSC policies, as Adam Mohamed was chosen over other more experienced judges.

Judge Adam Mohamed was appointed to the Criminal Court in January this year. He was formerly a defence lawyer and worked at the Prosecutor General's Office.

Responding to the criticism, JSC stated that per its policy on appointing acting chief judges to courts, which was gazetted in October 2019, a judge's experience will be prioritised only if the permanent Chief Judge was on any type of leave or away on Umrah or Hajj pilgrimage.

The policy is not applicable under circumstances where the Chief Judge has been suspended or the position permanently vacated, stated JSC.

Thus the commission maintained that its decision was lawful, noting that the temporary responsibility of managing a court falls on JSC if the Chief Judge seat is vacated.

The last Chief Judge at the Criminal Court was Ahmed Hailam, who was suspended in November 2019, over sharing a controversial image depicting President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and former President Mohamed Nasheed.

He resigned in December after JSC put forward a motion at the parliament to dismiss him.

In its statement, JSC further accused some former judges, who have resigned after the commission moved to dismiss them over disciplinary issues, of working to compromise JSC's image and integrity.

Condemning such attempts, JSC assured the public that the commission always works within the framework of the law.