The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has revised the regulations enabling judges who have completed 10 years in service to retire honorably before 55 years of age.
There are three circumstances in which a judge can be removed from office, which include voluntary resignation at age 55, automatic resignation at age 70, and voluntary resignation for health reasons, according to currently practiced regulations. However, the new amendment to the Rules of Procedure for Granting Allowances to Voluntary Retiring Judges states that judges can be retired from office even if they are not 55 years old, in addition to allowing judges who have served for 10 years to be honorably dismissed.
The regulation also states a judge can be allowed to retire honorably if the judge was not required to complete a training programme due to misconduct within the past year. In addition, a judge who was suspended for three months within the past three years will not be offered honorable retirement, as per the new regulation.
The benefits for honorary retirements for judges include allowances as well as monthly lifetime allowances and medical insurance.