Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed has revealed the report compiled by Parliamentary Committee on Judiciary to appoint Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed and Mahaz Ali Zahir to the bench of Supreme Court of Maldives has been dismissed.
Speaking at a parliament session, Speaker Nasheed added the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court will be rescheduled and put on the agenda following advice from Counsellor General of the Parliament.
The parliamentary committee reviewed the nominations submitted by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to be appointed to the bench of Supreme Court of Maldives. The president submitted the nominations under the powers vested in him under Article 148 (a) of the Constitution of Maldives, authorising the president to appoint judges to the Supreme Court after consulting with the Judicial Service Commission and with the approval of the majority of the parliamentarians present and voting.
Following the removal of Judge Abdulla Didi on August 28, there is one vacant position on the Supreme Court bench. Therefore, only one of Dhiyana and Mahaz will be appointed to the Supreme Court bench.
However, the parliamentary committee had not approved any of the two nominations in its report, according to the speaker. He noted the appointment can be rescheduled and put on the agenda after a period of 3 days, as per the regulations of the parliament.
On September 4, the president appointed Dr Azmiralda Zahir and Aisha Shujoon Mohamed to the Supreme Court. They are first female appointments to the Supreme Court. They were appointed to the two positions added to the bench, increasing the total number of judges at Supreme Court from five to seven.