Supreme Court orders halt on parliamentary appointment of new CSC head

The court, in reference to the constitutional procedures that needed to be followed in cases of this type, said it was ordering parliament under Article 144(b) of the Constitution of the Maldives to temporarily halt any work related to the appointment of any person to the recently vacated post.

Article 144(b) states: “When deciding a constitutional matter within its jurisdiction, a court may in connection with a declaration pursuant to the article make any order that is just and equitable, including an order providing just compensation for any damage sustained by any person or group of persons due to any statute, regulation or action that is inconsistent with the Constitution; or an order suspending the declaration of invalidity (of a statute, regulation or action due to inconsistency with the Constitution) for any period and on any conditions, to allow the competent authority to correct the defect.”

The order was issued in response to a request for a temporary halt order made by Fahmy, who has submitted a case at the Supreme Court alleging that he had been removed from his post in an unlawful move by the parliament.  Fahmy was represented in court by lawyer and Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Council Member Mohamed Waheed Ibrahim.