Govt seeks to reduce Supreme Court bench from 7 to 5 justices

The government has submitted a bill to the Parliament to reduce the number of justices in the bench of the Supreme Court from seven to five.

The amendment to the Judicature Act is sponsored by Holhudhoo MP Abdul Sattar Mohamed – a member of the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) – who hold a supermajority at the legislative assembly.

The Judicature Act currently states that the Supreme Court bench must be composed of seven justices; the chief justices and six other justices.

The new amendment seeks to reduce this number to five.

Under the new bill, the JSC will be required to submit the names of the justices they want removed to the Parliament within five days the amendment takes effect, and the Parliament must make a decision within seven days once it is submitted.

Meanwhile, the state will be required to complete all relevant formalities within seven days after a justice is removed.

The bill also calls for an exemption on following legally mandated deadlines for the JSC and Parliament in dismissal of judges.

It also states that the removal of Supreme Court justices will require the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to submit a motion for dismissal to the Parliament if they deem a justice to be incompetent, and will require a two-thirds vote of parliamentarians present.

The Supreme Court bench:

• Chief Justice Ahmed Muthasim Adnan
• Justice Dr. Azmiralda Zahir
• Justice Aisha Shujoon Mohamed
• Justice Mahaz Ali Zahir
• Justice Husnu Al-Suood
• Justice Ali Rasheed Hussain
• Justice Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim

The move to submit a bill to reduce the Supreme Court bench follows weekslong allegations by the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) that the government is seeking to dismiss some of the members of the top court’s bench to influence a case challenging a contentious amendment to add anti-defection provisions to the Maldivian Constitution.

The constitutional amendment in question was submitted, passed and ratified in quick succession on November 20. The controversial amendment added three more circumstances where parliamentarians will lose their seat, including if they are expelled from their political party.

Former Kendhoo MP Ali Hussain, an attorney-at-law, filed a constitutional case with the top court on November 24, arguing that the amendment violates key provisions of the Constitution, as well as the basic structure doctrine.

Ali Hussain’s case is a novel one – marking the first time for a petition to be lodged with the Supreme Court seeking to annul an amendment to the Constitution.

Hearings in the case began on February 17 – nearly three months after the case was filed.

The state filed a motion to have the case tossed out, arguing that the Supreme Court does not have the jurisdiction to hear it. But the bench decided on February 18 to proceed with the case, and gave the state 10 days to build their case.

The police are also rumored to be conducting criminal investigations into several Supreme Court justices – allegations that the police have denied.

On Sunday morning, senior parliamentarians from the PNC held a meeting at the Parliament, during which they engaged in discussions regarding conducting parliamentary inquiries into Supreme Court justices.

The number of justices in the Supreme Court bench have been changed twice in the last decade. In 2014, during former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s administration, the ruling party passed legislature reducing the bench from seven to five justices.

This was reversed in 2019 during former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s administration.