Interference of judiciary is in contravention to the guarantee of an independent Judiciary- Supreme Court

Tuesday, October 9th, 2012

Article Tools

The Supreme Court has stated that the interference of the judicial process by the Peoples’ Majlis was directly in contravention to the separation of powers and the guarantee of an independent Judiciary.

In a press statement issued yesterday, the Supreme Court called upon the Majlis to stop interference in the judiciary and to respect the separation of powers as guaranteed under the constitution. The call was made in response to the decision by the Parliamentary Subcommittee on Government to summon before it the three Majistrates on the bench to hear the criminal case against former President Mohamed Nasheed.

The statement said interference in the judiciary would not be permitted in any democratic society, and called upon the Government and independent institutions and all concerned to respect and uphold the separation of powers as guaranteed in the Constitution.

The Supreme Court cited Article 141 (c) of the Constitution which states that “No officials performing public functions, or any other persons, shall interfere with and influence the functions of the courts.”. It also cited Article 9 of the Bill on Judges as legal foundation for its arguments against judicial interference by the Parliament.

Meanwhile, the summons to the Majistrates was for 3.45 on 9th October, just 15 minutes prior to the scheduled time for the first hearing in Nasheed’s criminal trial. The Parliamentary Subcommittee has a majority of MPs belonging to Nasheed’s party Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and is headed by MDP MP Ali Waheed. Nasheed was arrested earlier yesterday upon a court warrant issued due to Nasheed’s violation of two court orders in the case.

Skip to News

« back