Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has said that a person who has held a licence to practice law for seven years meets the constitutional criteria to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court, even if they have never appeared in court as a lawyer.
The decision came as the JSC shortlisted High Court judge Mohamed Saleem and former judge Abdulla Hameed for nomination to the Supreme Court bench. JSC has decided to recommend their names to President Dr Mohamed Muizzu yesterday.
The move follows internal debate within the commission over whether Saleem qualifies under Article 149(c) of the Constitution, which requires Supreme Court appointees to have “at least seven years’ experience as a judge or practicing lawyer or both… and must be educated in Islamic Shari’ah or law.”
Saleem, who has worked as a legal officer at the High Court for 12 years and was appointed a judge in 2022, has never practiced as an advocate in court, a point he acknowledged during his interview with the JSC.
Some members argued that this disqualifies him, but the majority supported the interpretation that counts legal experience from the time a lawyer is licensed, regardless of whether they have physically represented clients in court. Saleem and Hameed received the highest scores in the interview process.
JSC said it has previously followed this interpretation when appointing former Chief Justices Abdullah Saeed and Dr Ahmed Abdulla Didi, as well as recently removed Supreme Court justice Dr Azmiralda Zahir.
The commission argued that restricting the definition of "practicing lawyer" to court appearances would exclude otherwise qualified candidates. Judiciary Act also does not require licensed lawyers to appear in court in order to count as having experience, JSC said.
Attorney General Ahmed Usham, was consulted on the matter and who also is said to have supported JSC’s interpretation.
In addition to Saleem, JSC prioritized Abdulla Hameed, who served on the High Court from 2007 until 2022. Hameed, a former member of the JSC, was removed during President Abdulla Yameen’s administration after allegations he had accepted a discounted flat in exchange for a favorable court ruling.
