UN: Respect for independence of judiciary has deteriorated

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Gabriela Knaul, has said that since her visit to the Maldives in February 2013, there has been a series of developments in the country that point at a serious deterioration of respect for the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary.

This came in a statement by the UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, dated 22 December 2014, in which she expressed serious concern about the recent removal of Supreme Court judges, former Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz and Muthasim Adnan.

The two judges were removed after the parliament passed an Amendment Bill to the Judicature Act, to reduce the number of Supreme Court judges from seven to five.

“This decision seriously undermines the independence of the judiciary in the country and will have a chilling effect on the work of the judiciary at all levels,” the human rights expert stressed.

Knaul called upon the authorities of the Maldives to reconsider the removal of former Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz and Judge Muthasim Adnan and to engage in a transparent, impartial and independent process in line with its international human rights obligations, and the recommendations she made in her report.

In her report following her visit to the Maldives in 2013, Knaul noted that the composition of the judiciary oversight body, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), was politicised; and advised that such a body should be composed entirely of retired or sitting judges. She said that some representation of the legal profession or academics could be advisable, but no political representation should be permitted in the commission.