Speaker Nasheed: Vital for political figure to be in JSC

Former President and Speaker of the Parliament Mohamed Nasheed on Monday expressed that it was important for someone from a political background that understand the needs of people to be in the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

During the Parliament session held on Monday, February 14, debates commenced for the bill that proposes to amend existing laws to bar political figures from being in JSC.

In the bill submitted by Mahibadhoo MP Ahmed Thoriq in September 2021, he stressed that the appointment of members to the JSC as per the existing laws has allowed the government to deeply influence cases reviewed by the JSC, as well as their decisions.

Giving his opinion on the bill, Nasheed, who was presiding today’s session said that it was odd for the Speaker of the Parliament to be in JSC.

However, he went on to state that it was important for a Parliamentarian to be present, in order to involve a necessary amount of political influence in JSC.

“Political figures are directly appointed by the people. There is no one better than a parliamentarian who would represent the needs of the people at a given time.”

Moreover, Nasheed stated that since the main function of JSC was to review complaints submitted against judges, it was conflicting to have too many judges there. Hence, he said that it was necessary to bring changes to the number of judges as well.

MP Thoriq has submitted a similar bill to the Parliament prior to this – which had ended up being kicked out. Back then he proposed the formulation of JSC without the inclusion of the Parliament Speaker, appointee member by the Parliament, appointee member by the President, Attorney General and President of the Civil Service Commission.