Constitutional disaster averted as Parliament approves Supreme Court
10 Aug 2010, 9:09 PM
The Maldives has appointed a new Supreme Court and narrowly averted constitutional catastrophe, after a series of parliamentary sessions today demonstrated remarkable and uncharacteristic cooperation between the two major parties.
Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz took the oath of office this evening in a ceremony at the President’s Office, and then administered the oath to five of the other appointed judges. The sixth, Muthasim Adnan, was out out of country.
Earlier this week a surge in political partisanship, caused by disagreement over the interim period set out in the Constitution and the locking of the Supreme Court by the military, had threatened to derail the process and leave the Maldives without its highest judicial authority.
On Tuesday morning parliament approved the amended judges bill 71 in favour, out of 73 members present. It was quickly ratified by President Nasheed shortly after lunchtime.
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