Maldives passes bill to establish Supreme Court

The legislation had been delayed by a power struggle between the parliament and the Maldives' president/ Photo credit: Dhivehi Observer

The Maldives' parliament passed a crucial bill to appoint a permanent Supreme Court on Tuesday, ending a legal limbo that had threatened to paralyse the country's judiciary.

The legislation had been delayed by a power struggle between the parliament and the Maldives' president, a spat that showcased the difficult transition to democracy for the country of 350,000 in the Indian Ocean archipelago, best known as a tourist destination.

The legislation signed later Tuesday by President Mohammed Nasheed is "one of the key pieces of legislation needed to create a legitimate and fully functioning judiciary in the country," said a statement from his office.

"This law goes a long way to filling the constitutional void the country has been in since Sunday" the president's press secretary, Mohamed Zuhair, was quoted as saying in the statement.

The crisis erupted after the parliament failed to enact legislation to appoint a new Supreme Court.

Attorney-General Husnu Suood also resigned Sunday, claiming his position was untenable in the "constitutional void" triggered by parliament's failure to pass the legislation.

n an attempt to prevent the country from spiraling into judicial chaos, Nasheed issued a decree Sunday — the day an interim court was to have been disbanded — allowing the Supreme Court to continue administrative functions until the crisis was resolved.

The new bill — titled the Act on Judges — outlines the powers and responsibilities that judges hold, rules on judges' ethical standards, rules on the appointment and dismissal of judges, and judges' salaries and allowances.

Zuhair welcomed the political parties for putting "aside their differences and passed this crucial law."

However, the parliament has yet to approve the names of judges.

Zuhair called on the lawmakers to "approve the President's nominations for the Chief Justice and bench of the Supreme Court" in order to create a "fully functioning and independent legal system the Maldives' young democracy deserves."

Political disorder has engulfed the nation of 1,192 low-lying coral islands after the 13-member Cabinet resigned en masse in June, accusing the opposition in parliament of undermining Nasheed's powers by defeating all motions put before it. The Cabinet was reappointed last month.

Nasheed took power in the country's first democratic elections two years ago, after being repeatedly jailed under the 30-year rule of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, whom he defeated in the 2008 poll.

The ruling Maldivian Democratic Party has only 32 seats in the country's 77-member parliament. The opposition coalition, led by the Dhivehi Raithunge Party, has 36 seats, with the rest independents.