Male’, Maldives – Former present and current Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed has said that it is not too late to change the composition of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) so that individuals involved in politics cannot be a part of the commission.
The JSC currently consists of
- 3 judges of the Supreme Court, High Court and lower courts
- The speaker of Parliament
- A President’s Representative
- The Attorney General
- President of the Civil Service Commission (CSC)
- A Member of public
- A Lawyer
The governing coalition’s main party, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) was previously very critical of the JSC, but has not taken many steps to reform the commission after they came into power.
Speaking on the matter at a news conference earlier today, Nasheed said that he does not believe it is too late to reform the JSC, and that plans for reform are included in MDP’s and the government’s legislative agenda.
“I believe this work will be done with in the 5 years, I have no doubts “
Speaker of Parliament, Former President Mohamed Nasheed
He explained that JSC’s current efforts are satisfactory and that “even though some individuals are frustrated that they cannot maintain close relationships with JSC officials like they used to, there is nothing to be done about that”
The current oppostion has also be critical of the JSC, with a Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) member referring to JSC as “another branch of MDP”. A decree to reform JSC was submitted recently by PPM Member of Parliament Ahmed Thoriq, but was not accepted in the MDP majority parliament.
