Hulhumalé Court's authority to hear criminal cases questioned

With Criminal Court now operating out of Hulhumalé as well, the authority of Hulhumalé Magistrate Court to hear criminal cases was questioned at the High Court yesterday.

According to the Judicature Act of Maldives, if a superior court such as the Criminal Court, or a division of such a court is established in an island where there is a magistrate court, the magistrate court would not have the authority to hear cases designated for the superior court.

The issue stems from the presence of a magistrate court in Hulhumalé, where certain sections of the Criminal Court are being tried due to space constraints in the original Criminal Court building.

The matter was brought up yesterday during an appeal hearing for a defendant remanded by Hulhumalé Court after a fatal car accident that killed another person.

At the hearing, the driver, Mohamed Wisam Sidhuqee's defence counsel Nooru-Salaam Abubakr argued Hulhumalé court no longer has the jurisdiction to hear criminal cases based on the law, regardless of whether the Criminal Court's establishment in Hulhumalé is just a division of the court or not. He went on to acknowledge the space constraint of the Criminal Court and said that this change takes away Hulhumalé Court's authority to hear criminal cases.

As such, all criminal cases of Hulhumalé must now be heard at the Criminal Court, he said.

However, the state contested that the operations of the Criminal Court in Hulhumalé do not constitute a division of the court, noting that the official address of the Criminal Court remains in Malé. The prosecution emphasized that, according to the Judicature Act, a division of the court can only be established through a formal decree and the completion of specific procedures. As these requirements have not been fulfilled, they argued that the Hulhumalé extension of the court cannot be regarded as an official division of the Criminal Court.

The High Court's bench also questioned the defendant about the categorisation of a court's division, highlighting the requirements of the Judicature Act.

In response, Nooru-Salaam said that despite the requirements not being met to officially declare a division, the outcome is the same. He claimed that if hearings are being held in an island indefinitely, then the location can be considered a division. The onus of proving that the procedures have not been completed to designate a division is on the state, he also said.

The court also addressed the technicality of Hulhumalé being administratively considered a part of Malé City, and asked what obstacle there is for the Criminal Court to operate out of Hulhumalé.

In response, Nooru-Salaam said Hulhumalé is not considered a part of Malé for the purposes of establishing court, and went on to say that Hulhumalé having a magistrate court is proof of that.

Although the question of the court's authority was raised, this is not the first time. Judicial Service Commission (JSC) previously decided to dissolve the court. However, it is yet to be implemented.

In 2012, a case was filed with the Supreme Court questioning the validity of the court as well. At the time, the court ruled the Hulhumalé Court was well within the law to exist.