Male’, Maldives – Criminal Court changes guidelines to provide special protection to the state officials who are summoned to the court.
Initially, the Criminal Court adhered to the regulations passed by individual Judges of the court. However, for the first time, the Criminal Court has formulated and gazetted set regulations to be followed in the court.
The new regulations publicized by the Criminal Court states that special protection should be provided to state officials summoned to the court and detailed guidelines on how to act in such cases. According to the guidelines, special protection should be given to the persons who once served or is currently serving as a:
- President
- Vice President
- Parliament Speaker
- Chief Justice
- Minister
- Parliament Members
- Judges
- Retired Judges
In addition to this, the guidelines state that if the Court believes that special protection needs to be given to a certain individual, then the court can provide special protection to that individual as well.
While the new law states that the Court must arrange for special protection, it also states that special protection cannot be arranged for anyone who arrives as a lawyer.
