Malé, Maldives – The Parliament of Maldives, on Monday, commenced the debate on Bill on Amendment to the Judges Act (no. 13/2010) proposed by government, sponsored by MP Abdulla Shaheem Abdul Hakeem of the Kanditheemu constituency.
The bill proposed to grant,
- One month paternity leave for male judges and
- Six months maternity leave for female judges, upon the birth of a child.
The bill was drafted following a request by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) of the Maldives to grant parental leave to judges. The JSC recommended the same leave duration as above and as stated in the Maldives Employment Act.
Granting parental leave to parents is of the key pledges of the incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
While parental leave for judges is being debated at the parliament at present, the pledge has been implemented in government sector since March 2019 with multiple private companies following suit.
