Civil Procedure Code a burden on the Civil Court

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) said today that a reason for delays in court cases is the enactment of laws without considering their compatibility with the Maldivian context. The 2022 amendment to the Civil Procedure Act was cited by the JSC as one such change.

JSC President Hussain Riza urged Parliament to take existing legislation, including the Civil Procedure Act, into account while discussing court delays and the proposed amendment to the Judiciary Act. He noted that before the Civil Procedure Act amendment came into force, most cases filed in the Civil Court were resolved through dispute resolution.

"I would say this change in the Civil Procedure Code in 2022 caused the court cases to come to a halt," Riza stated. "With a total of seventeen judges, the cases did not proceed at all. These were the same category-based cases previously decided, usually by dispute. Nearly 60 percent of cases filed fall into this category. With this amendment, all the works are at a halt.”

Another challenge facing the Civil Court was the consolidation of inheritance, will, and division cases that were previously handled by the Family Court.

To alleviate these issues, the JSC passed amendments to the Civil Procedure Act and submitted them to the Attorney General's (AG) Office last year. Riza emphasized that they have requested the AG Office to approve these amendments quickly.

“And we have sent a letter on May 20, 2025, to expedite the amendment. We do not know if it has reached this committee to this date,” Riza said. He believes that if the amendments are passed, the Civil Courts will be able to function as they did previously.