Parliament Approves Amendment to Reduce Supreme Court Judges
Photo: People’s Majlis
Parliament has passed an amendment to the Judicature Act, reducing the number of Supreme Court judges from seven to five.
The bill was submitted by Abdul Sattar Mohamed, the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) MP for Holhudhoo, and was approved with 68 votes in favour and nine against. Due to a technical issue with the voting system, the vote was conducted by roll call, as confirmed by Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla.
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The PNC had issued a three-line whip in support of the bill. However, some members did not participate in the vote, including Hithadhoo Central MP Ahmed Azan and Huraa MP Dr Anara Naeem. Azan had also abstained from a previous vote on the bill and was later removed from the PNC parliamentary group’s WhatsApp group. The party’s parliamentary group leader, Ibrahim Falah, warned that disciplinary action would be taken against those who defied the whip.
During the debate, only three PNC members spoke on the bill: Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim, Baarah MP Ibrahim Shujau, and Mahibadhoo MP Ahmed Thoriq.
MPs from the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) strongly opposed the amendment, arguing that changing the composition of the Supreme Court while it is hearing a case involving MPs constitutes political interference.
Following the vote, Parliament’s Counsel General, Fathimath Filza, advised that any changes to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) that would require judges to be declared incompetent and removed would be unfair.
She noted that while the Constitution does not specify a fixed number of Supreme Court judges, reducing the number from seven to five would necessitate the removal of sitting judges, which she described as an unfair approach.
