Attorney General Ibrahim Riffath has stated that the long road to justice has become shorter.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Tuesday ratified the second amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act which grants judges the discretion to hold court through audio and video conferencing means under special circumstances. In a tweet published on Tuesday night, Riffath said the commencement of trials through audio and video conferencing has made long route towards justice shorter.
In determining whether special circumstances exist, judges may refer to such factors as: the country being under a state of emergency; if the country has suffered a crisis which makes travelling to court unsafe; if parties cannot bear the costs of travelling to court, are unable to travel in inclement weather, or do not have access to adequate transport-arrangements, especially in light of the Maldives’ dispersed geography; if there are unforeseen challenges in conducting regular trials within a respective jurisdiction; and if delays would hinder access to justice. However, such trials shall be held only if the parties involved in the cases do not object to it.
Attorney General Ibrahim Riffath
