Bill to Amend Judiciary Act and Legal Profession Act Returns to Committee

Two proposed amendments to the Judiciary Act and the Legal Profession Act were rejected and subsequently sent back to the Judiciary Committee for further deliberation today.

One of the proposed amendments, presented by Dhiggaru Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)  MP Ikram Hassan, sought to empower the Judiciary Act by revoking the judges’ license if they were dismissed for specific acts or resigned while their case was pending in parliament. 

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The initial recommendation from the Judiciary Committee was to shorten the license revocation period for dismissed judges to six months, based on advice from the Judges Association and the Bar Council. However, the bill was referred back to the committee in November of last year.

Subsequently, the Committee revised the proposed license revocation period to six months. Nevertheless, in cases involving serious misconduct or sexual misconduct and abuse allegations, the Bar Council would play a role in deciding whether to reinstate the license.

Furthermore, the committee introduced an additional amendment for the second time, allowing the stamp of conformity on official documents and the official work of diplomatic missions of Maldives. 

However, this second amendment received limited support, with only seven members voting in favour, while 31 members opposed it. Consequently, the Majlis decided to return the bill to the committee for further scrutiny.

On a separate note, MP Abdullah Shaheem Abdul Hakeem from the government proposed an amendment to the Judiciary Act. 

This amendment aimed to grant judges the ability to purchase flats and land from private and government housing projects and to provide regulations regarding the quality of judges’ work and their business and financial transactions. 

This bill, too, had been previously sent back to the committee in November of the previous year. The second set of amendments included changes to the assessment of judges, mandating that the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) form a special committee to assess their quality every two years. An additional proposal suggested prioritising higher positions and salary increases for judges who consistently achieve the highest grades.

Ultimately, the amendment was rejected, with 34 votes in favour and 34 against it, leading to the bill’s return to the committee for further examination. The proposed amendments to the Judiciary Act and the Legal Profession Act will continue to undergo deliberation and refinement in the coming sessions.