Bill to amend Judges Act ‘custom fitted’ for former Chief Justice, claim MPs
13 Jun 2012, 3:47 PM
Mohamed Naahee
Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and some government-aligned MPs have claimed that the first amendment proposed to the Judges Act (act no. 13/2010) by the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Dr Afrashim Ali, is has been “custom fitted” for former Chief Justice Mohamed Rasheed Ibrahim.
Rasheed was the Chief Justice and the President of the Council of Islamic Affairs during former President Gayoom’s administration.
The bill proposes to amend the article 26 of the act, which describes the reasons for declaring the seat of a judge vacant. However, MP Afrashim Ali proposed to change the context of the clause to replace it with privileges of a retiring judge. Afrashim was formerly a member of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), the judiciary’s heavily criticised watchdog body.
If passed, the amendment would mean that the stated privileges would apply to all judges who failed to qualify as a judge or were retired from their seats under 285(a) of the constitution.
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