Justice Shaheed appointed to JSC

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has appointed new Supreme Court appointee, Justice Hussain Shaheed, as a member of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

Shaheed was presented with his letter of appointment in a ceremony held at the President’s Office on Monday morning.

His oath was administered by Justice Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim.

Shaheed was appointed to the JSC as the representative from the Supreme Court other than the Chief Justice. The top court had approved the decision back in March.

Shaheed was appointed to the Supreme Court on March 19, mere hours after he received the unanimous backing of the Parliament.

He replaced former Justice Husnu Al-Suood, who resigned from the Supreme Court on March 4.

Shaheed received his higher education in sharia and law from the Al-Azhar University in Egypt and from the Kulliyathul Dhiraasaathul Islaamiyya. He attained his Masters of Judicial Science, Sharia Policy and Jurisprudence and Law from the Islamic University of Maldives (IUM).

Shaheed was appointed to the High Court on July 24, 2018, and as the chief judge of the court on October 30, 2023. He previously served as a magistrate at the S. Feydhoo Court, a magistrate at the N. Holhudhoo Court, and as a judge at the Criminal Court.

Shaheed's predecessor Suood, who was appointed to the bench of the country’s top court in December 2019, resigned on March 4, after he and two other Supreme Court justices – Dr. Azmiralda Zahir and Mahaz Ali Zahir – were suspended by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) citing an ongoing criminal investigation against them by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on February 26. Their suspension came less than one hour ahead of a hearing scheduled at the Supreme Court regarding a request for an injunction to suspend the enforcement of controversial anti-defection clauses that were written into the Constitution last year. It also came shortly after the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) used its supermajority in the Parliament to push through amendments to the Judicature Act to downsize the Supreme Court bench from seven to five justices.

In his resignation letter, Suood raised serious allegations of government intimidation.

He has also raised the issue of the suspension of the Supreme Court justices with international organizations, including the United Nations and the Commonwealth, as well as financial agencies including World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Meanwhile, the contentious judicature bill remained unsigned for close to two weeks, and was sent back to the Parliament for reconsideration on March 11. It is currently under review by the Judiciary Committee.