Malé, Maldives – The Supreme Court of Maldives on Tuesday overturned the High Court ruling stating that local councils may not represent themselves in court with regard to land disputes and such disputes must be represented by the Prosecutor General’s Office as part of the state.
The High Court made this ruling regarding a land dispute by the ADh. Fenfushi Council.
The Prosecutor General is a representative of the state. As such, having the Prosecutor General represent local councils diminishes the independence granted to the councils [by law].
Supreme Court
The Supreme Court ruling read that local councils are formed with representatives of the people and are provided with jurisdictions independent from the state.
With this, the Supreme Court overturned the High Court ruling and granted the councils the authority to represent themselves.
The ruling was passed by three justices bench including Justice Husnu al Suood, Justice Azmiralda Zahir and Justice Ali Rasheed Hussain.
