The Criminal Court is set to commence conducting hearings in the building previously used as the Hulhumale Division of the Civil Court from today.
Arrangements have been made to facilitate hearings for six sections of the Criminal Court in three courtrooms in the building. The decision to conduct hearings in the Hulhumale building came after the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) ordered not to use some parts of the Criminal Court's existing premises in Male' due to its dilapidated condition. The JSC issued the notice on February 22 this year, causing space constraints and delays in the Criminal Court, with trials being conducted in a single courtroom until recently.
The Criminal Court said that with the temporary relocation to Hulhumale has vacated three courtrooms in the Male' building, providing a total of six halls for trials. The six halls will be divided among 11 judges on different days and priority will be given to older cases and those involving individuals in custody.
Despite the constraints over the past 1.5 years, during which trials were held in a single courtroom, the court made decisions regarding the remands of 2,934 individuals, issued a total of 2,193 court orders and delivered 520 judgements during the period.
