Legislature submitted to increase Supreme Court justices to 7

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s parliamentary group leader has submitted legislature to increase the number of Supreme Court justices from five to seven.

Central Henveyru MP Ali Azim submitted the legislature to the Parliament last Sunday.

The Courts Act – enacted in 2010 – originally established the number of Supreme Court justices as seven – made up of the Chief Justice and six additional justices who must be appointed to the court.

A revision to the Courts Act in late 2014 cut down the number of Supreme Court justices to five.

Ali Azim’s legislature is designed to annul the 2014 revision – which the parliamentarian says was passed to serve a political motive.

Ali Azim’s legislature is designed to come into effect the moment it is enacted into a law.