The Parliament of the Maldives has passed the bill on legal evidence. The purpose of the bill is to replace the existing law on legal evidence, which was implemented in 1976.
The bill on legal evidence was proposed on behalf of the government by Parliamentarian Abdul Mughunee. The bill on legal evidence consists of 19 chapters and 150 subsections and is meant to modernise the policies and regulations on gathering, submitting, accepting, confirming, and preserving legal evidence. The bill also includes details on using evidence to conclude civil and criminal cases in accordance with Islamic law.
The bill was passed with votes from 50 parliamentarians. Five parliamentarians voted against the bill, while two parliamentarians abstained from the vote.
Legal experts have been critical of the current laws in place, which makes it difficult to safeguard the rights of witnesses who testify in major court cases. The bill on legal evidence proposes to make changes in order to fix such issues and protect witnesses.