Speaker of Parliament and President of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Mohamed Nasheed has stated important bills under MDP’s justice pledge have been passed by the Parliament.
Speaking at a press conference held on December 18, Nasheed noted the justice pledge was one of the main five pledges made by MDP for 2019 parliamentary elections. Noting MDP’s pledges are backed by strong and effective plans for implementation, Nasheed said the main bills under the justice pledge of MDP have now been passed by the Parliament. As such, he said the recently ratified Transitional Justice Bill was the third bill under MDP’s justice pledge that has been completed.
In addition to the Transitional Justice Bill, the MDP President noted the Parliament has also passed the amendments to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) Act, mandating the appointment of a Chief Judicial Administrator to oversee the operations of the Department of Judicial Administration (DJA). He also highlighted the passing of the Police Service Bill, granting certain investigative powers and authorities to Maldives Police Service (MPS) to speed up the investigation process of certain types of cases. He also noted the Parliament has overhauled the Supreme Court bench to ensure the judges at the apex court are free of political influence and can be trusted by the public.
Speaking further, Nasheed said MDP is also working on important amendments to the Acts relating to the the Auditor General’s Office, the Prosecutor General’s Office, Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM), Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) as part of efforts to eliminate corruption and abuse of power within state authorities and to ensure accountability of the state. He said MDP has established the basic structure for the legislative changes required to ensure good governance.
The Transitional Justice Bill was passed by the Parliament on November 29 and ratified on December 17. The key objective of the new Act is to end the culture of impunity and strengthen the rule of law, thereby strengthening democratic governance. It sanctions investigations into past wrongdoings by state authorities, heads of agencies, or individuals in power, which resulted in human rights violations.