Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has appointed former Criminal Court judge Ali Rasheed Hussain and Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim to the two vacancies on the Supreme Court bench.
Ali Rasheed and Mohamed Ibrahim secured the backing of the Parliament for their appointment to Supreme Court earlier this week.
They took their oath of office in a ceremony held at the President’s Office on Tuesday. Their oath was administered by Chief Justice Ahmed Muthasim Adnan.
Of the two new appointees, Ali Rasheed holds a Bachelor's of Shari'ah and Law from Al-Azhar University, Egypt.
Ali Rasheed most recently served as a Criminal Court judge, prior to which he served as a judge at the old Criminal Court, as the chief judge at Civil Court, and as a judge at Drug Court.
He had been on the bench of judges that convicted former Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom for money laundering in 2019. His nomination to the Supreme Court has been criticized by the opposition, who describe it as a “reward” for the conviction.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Ibrahim completed his Doctorate in Islamic Commercial Law from the University of Malaya, in Malaysia.
He has more than 16 years of experience as a lawyer.
He is a council member at the Islamic University of Maldives and a member of the Shari'ah Committee of Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC).
He most recently served as a partner of Premier Chambers.
With the two new appointments, the Supreme Court now has a full bench.
SUPREME COURT BENCH: