The Parliament has approved the Transitional Justice Bill after bringing amendments to the proposed bill.
The Transitional Justice bill will allow investigation into human rights violations and seek justice for such crimes that occured between 1953 to November 17,2018.
The bill proposed by Hithadhoo North MP Mohamed Aslam first proposed to investigate and take action against rights violations and instances of hindrance of basic freedom that occurred between January 2012 to 17 November, 2018 in a systematic manner by a state institution.
While the proposed period covers the years after the presidency of main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s Mohamed Nasheed ended until the beginning of the current MDP presidency, several members of the public and representatives from organizations expressed concern regarding the period covered under the bill. The joint committee formed between Parliament’s Human Rights Committee and Judiciary Committee, which was tasked with assessing the bill, then proposed to increase the duration from 1953, which is when the first Maldivian republic was established. The bill was passed with some minor amendments by the Parliament on Sunday, with 54 members voting in its favour.
The Transitional Justice bill requires an ombudsman office to be established, with the office’s responsibility being identifying and investigating relevant cases. After investigation, the office must forward criminal offences to the Prosecutor General’s Office and civil cases to the Attorney General’s Office for charging.
