Justice Areef appointed to judicial watchdog

President Abdulla Yameen has appointed Supreme Court Justice Abdulla Areef to the judicial watchdog body to replace Justice Ali Hameed Mohamed.

Areef took the oath of office Monday morning during a ceremony at the president’s office.

Hameed, whose two-year term as chair of the Judicial Service Commission ended in January, was hospitalised last Thursday and remains admitted at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital. He was reportedly rushed to hospital from the supreme court after suffering a heart attack.

The JSC is comprised of three judges nominated by their peers from the supreme court, the high court, and the trial courts as well as the attorney general, a presidential appointee, the chair of the civil service commission, the speaker of parliament, a lawmaker nominated by parliament, a member of the public chosen by parliament, and a lawyer elected by licensed practitioners.