Attorney General Ahmed Usham on Wednesday refused to provide an exact timeline on which the incumbent administration plans to roll out the changes it has promised to make to the composition of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC).
During his 2023 presidential campaign, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu had pledged to free JSC from political influence, promising to change the composition to bar politicians from getting a seat at the judicial watchdog.
However, the promised changes have yet to manifest, two years into his administration.
Usham, who attended a parliamentary sitting on Wednesday morning, was questioned about this by Thoddoo MP Hussain Sameer, a lawmaker from the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).
Usham responded that changes to the composition of the JSC requires constitutional amendments, and that his office is working on it.
However, he did not say when the Attorney General’s Office plans to submit the amendments to the Parliament, in which the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) holds a supermajority.
“I am unable to say exactly when or during which parliamentary session. We are working on it,” said Usham.
Attorney General Ahmed Usham responds to questions at the Parliament on October 15, 2025. (Photo/People's Majlis)
“We will be submitting several amendments to the Constitution this year. And the amendments we are unable to submit this year will be submitted next year.”
Usham said that making constitutional amendments involve a lot of work.
He also added that the JSC needs additional reforms, in addition to changes to its composition.
But he did not provide any details.
Regardless, we will be changing the composition of the JSC as promised as soon as possible, he said.
The 10-member JSC is currently composed of:
Parliament Speaker
A representative from the Parliament
A representative of the President
A Supreme Court justice
A High Court judge
A lower court judge
A representative of the general public approved by Parliament
Civil Service Commission’s President
Attorney General
A representative of lawyers
The presence of politicians in the JSC continues to spark allegations of political influence in decisions.
The former MDP administration, which held office from 2018 to 2023, had also promised to change the commission’s composition, but failed to get it done.