News

JSC to advise three top court justices

Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has made the decision to advice Chief Justice Dr. Ahmed Abdulla Didi and Supreme Court Justices Adam Mohamed Abdulla and Justice Abdulla Areef.

JSC stated the commission's committee that investigated complaints filed against the three justices recommended to advise the judges after issuing a report on their findings. The three judges were previously granted 30 days to respond to the report.

While JSC did not disclose if the judges responded to the findings of the report, the judicial watchdog has decided to accept the report and advise the judges as per its recommendations.

The three judges were investigated for taking over a case filed at the Civil Court regarding former Deputy Managing Director of Public Service Media (PSM) Mohamed Ikram Abdul Latheef's failure to pay a decreed debt.

While the Supreme Court has received criticism for taking over some cases already ongoing in lower courts, main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) intends to amend laws to prevent the Supreme Court from taking over cases in this manner.

The case in question was taken over by the Supreme Court during December 2014. The Supreme Court had at the time stated that the case was taken over under supervisory jurisdiction after a case was filed at the court by Ikram. However, it is unclear how the case proceeded from then on.