President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has included in his presidential manifesto the reintegration of offenders into society as the mainstay of the criminal justice system and the adoption of alternative penalties instead of imprisonment.
The 'good governance' policy outlined in the MDP's manifesto places the reintegration of offenders as the linchpin of the criminal justice system while also proposing the creation of a dedicated agency responsible for enforcing non-custodial punishments.
The policy states that in addition to house arrest, community service or participation in designated rehabilitative programs could effectively serve as sentences for offenders. It further proposes to include the operation of the parole system under the agency's oversight.
It also includes a proposal to amend the Criminal Procedure Code to make it mandatory for the victim to have a say at all stages of the investigation and trial of criminal cases in order to eliminate the challenges of access to justice.
To facilitate dispute resolution before the trial stage, it is also proposed to amend the law to enable mediation in civil and family disputes, train mediators in civil and family courts, and establish a system of court-annexed mediation.
In addition, the manifesto proposes to make having a proven debt an offense that does not instigate jail time. In order to achieve this, the manifesto proposes the formulation of a bankruptcy law that would allow both businesses and individuals to "declare bankruptcy or declare their business bankrupt."
The policy also provides for accommodation for judges and staff serving on an island other than their island of registration to ensure that judges and judicial staff live a self-sufficient life and do not have to rely on others for their living expenses and necessities. The Judicial Academy, which was established to improve the quality of judges and judicial staff, will be a center for planning and implementing sustainable training programs to improve the competence and skills of judges and judicial staff, the manifesto states.
The policies further state that courts will be provided with the necessary space and modern facilities to facilitate the expeditious processing of cases submitted to the courts and introduce artificial intelligence (AI) for the use of assistive tools such as speech-to-text tools, referencing tools, etc. A connected digital platform for case submissions and administrative communication across Maldivian courts is also planned.
