Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has stated that the commission would continue to act promptly to investigate any allegations or statements that may implicate alleged misconduct on the part of judges.
A statement released by the commission Monday said the commission is determined to ensure that the commission's members clearly understands its legal mandate, and revealed that the commission has reviewed 200 different complaints against judges since the enactment of the Second Amendment of the JSC Act in September this year. The complaints involve allegations of sexual harassment, corruption, and undue influence to judicial overreach, said JSC.
JSC said they are currently probing 18 complaints against Chief Justice Dr Ahmed Abdulla Didi, 14 complaints against Supreme Court Justice Abdulla Areef, 16 complaints against Supreme Court Justice Adam Mohamed Abdulla, and three complaints against Supreme Court Justice Abdul Ghanee Mohamed.
The judicial overreach case against the four judges includes the alleged constitutionally impermissible intrusion by the Supreme Court to the jurisdiction of the Parliament, the Executive, the lower courts and independent institutions including the Elections Commission, the Human Rights Commission and the JSC, the statement read.
The statement further said complaints have been made by the public for more than a decade, and that the same complaint were reiterated in the findings of international expert's reports compiled by UN Rapporteur Gabriela Knaul in 2013, and more recently by retired Justice of South Africa, Johann Kriegler in 2019.
JSC assured the public that the commission is determined to ensure that its legal mandate is delivered and contributes positively to the justice system of the Maldives.
