Department of Judicial Administration (DJA) has denied Chief justice Dr Ahmed Abdulla Didi's allegations that the DJA was obstructing the work of judges.
Due to recent changes to the Judicial Service Commission Act, DJA, which previously functioned under the Supreme Court now functions under the Judicial Service Commission (JSC). The DJA is mandated to organize, implement and oversee all administrative matters of the Judiciary. DJA is currently working on bringing changes to the administrative policies of the courts.
The Chief Justice has described the DJA's work as an attempt to obstruct judges' work and "paralyze" the judicial system. Claiming that the responsibility of running the courts lie only with the chief judge of a court, the Chief Justice has instructed the Secretary General of the Supreme Court not to cooperate with DJA on any changes they bring to the court's administration.
A statement released by DJA Wednesday said the department is working to enforce changes that would allow the courts to be run more efficiently and independently. The department is attempting to manage the increasing case loads through information technology, and are also arranging senior staff to increase efficiency and provide assistance required by the judges of the courts.
"This in no way undermines the role of judges in delivering a fair judgement. The changes are intended to increase the efficiency of the courts and expediting cases, within our mandate", said DJA.
The Chief Justice made his accusations while the Parliament's Judiciary Committee and the JSC are conducting investigations on accusations that the Supreme Court was working to obstruct the DJA through the Judicial Council. The JSC is also probing disciplinary issues involving the judge.
Head of DJA - AVAS Photo
