A row erupted in the Parliament on Wednesday morning as parliamentarians from the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) accused the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) of using its absolute majority to completely disregard the concerns raised by counsel general Fathimath Filza regarding a government bill to downsize the Supreme Court bench from seven to five justices.
The amendment to the Judicature Act was submitted on Sunday night by Holhudhoo MP Abdul Sattar Mohamed – a member of PNC. The bill was presented, debated on and accepted into the Parliament on Tuesday, and the Judiciary Committee passed it without any changes in a meeting held shortly after the vote.
The Judiciary Committee reconvened for an emergency meeting again on Tuesday night after it received Filza’s comments regarding the bill.
Filza noted that downsizing the Supreme Court’s bench would mean that two justices would need to be removed. She questioned whether removing the justices without giving them a chance to defend themselves is fair.
To be updated…