Hisaan to recuse herself from judiciary committee’s JSC oversight

MP Hisaan Hussain plans to recuse herself from the parliamentary standing committee on the judiciary when the committee is working in the Judicial Service Commission, of which she is a member.

The issue was raised by some lawmakers after Hisaan was appointed a member of the newly formed standing committee with the powerful mandate of judicial oversight.

Hisaan was appointed to the committee after she was also nominated by parliament to sit on the judicial watchdog, the JSC, as the parliament’s nominee.

In a tweet, Hisaan said the judiciary committee’s mandate was not exclusive to the JSC and said that she will recuse herself from any proceedings related to the JSC on the committee.

“I will not take part in the oversight work for the JSC, which is a conflict of interest. JSC oversight is not the only mandate of the judiciary committee. The mandate includes the amendments and laws that need to be introduced for judicial reform,” Hisaan tweeted.

Under its mandate, the judiciary committee oversees the JSC, the department of judicial administration, the prosecutor general’s office, the employment tribunal, the Maldives arbitration centre and the attorney general’s office.

The committee consists of eight main ruling party MDP members, one member from the PPM, one from the PNC and one independent member. The committee is chaired by long-time critic of the judiciary, MP Imthiyaz Fahmy.