The ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) leadership has told its Members of Parliament (MPs) to support a new amendment bill that will shrink the Supreme Court bench from seven judges to five. This decision comes while the court is handling a big constitutional case about disqualifying MPs.
The bill was put forward by Holhudhoo MP Abdul Sattar Mohamed on behalf of the government. It aims to change the Judicature Act and reduce the number of Supreme Court judges. At first, many PNC MPs spoke against the bill during a parliamentary group meeting. However, on Monday night, the party leadership changed its stance and asked MPs to back it.
PNC parliamentary group leader, MP Ibrahim Falah, sent a message to MPs on WhatsApp saying, “Since the PNC leadership has decided to support the Amendment Bill to the Judicature Act, we would like to ask all honorable MPs to support the bill during the debate stage.” Some MPs who were at the meeting said that Falah also mentioned President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu wants the bill to pass.
Not all MPs are happy about this.They feel pressured to follow the party line even if they disagree.
The bill says the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) will pick the two judges to be removed from the Supreme Court. The JSC has five days after the law passes to send the names to parliament. Then, the People’s Majlis has seven days to vote on removing the judges. It will take a two-thirds majority to let them go. The bill also says the JSC doesn’t need to follow timelines set by other laws when choosing the judges.
This isn’t the first time the Supreme Court’s size has changed. When the current Constitution started, the court had five judges during its temporary phase. In 2010, after a new government and parliament were elected, it grew to seven judges. Then, in 2014, under former President Abdulla Yameen, it went back to five. At that time, former Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz Hussain and Justice Ahmed Muthasim Adnan were removed. When the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) took power in 2019, the bench returned to seven judges, as it is today.
The amendment bill has sparked debate in the Maldives, with some worried about its timing amid the ongoing MP disqualification case. For now, all eyes are on parliament to see how PNC MPs will vote and what this means for the Supreme Court.
