Parliament of Maldives has appointed Dr. Azmiralda Zahir and Aisha Shujoon Mohamed to the bench of Supreme Court.
The motion was passed with a majority of 62 votes, while one parliamentarian voted against. This is the first time female judges were appointed to the Supreme Court bench in Maldives.
Supreme Court judges can only be appointed after the president submits nominations for approval of the parliament and when two-thirds of the parliamentarians vote in favour of the nominations.
On August 22, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih nominated Azmiralda and Shujoon to be appointed to the Supreme Court. The president nominated two female judges after the Supreme Court bench was increased from 5 to 7 following an amendment made to the Judicature Act of Maldives. The nominations were accepted by JSC and also approved by the Parliamentary Committee on Judiciary.
Following the removal of Judge Abdulla Didi on August 28, there is one vacant position on the Supreme Court bench.