Day: May 10, 2010

JSC decision could “rob nation of an honest judiciary”, warns member

The Judicial Service Commission’s (JSC) decision yesterday to reappoint all sitting judges unless they have been convicted of either a crime with a punishment prescribed in the Qur’an, criminal breach of trust or bribery was “nothing less than treason to rob the people of an honest judiciary”,  claims Aishath Velezinee, the president’s member on the commission.

The decision was approved with five votes in favour, two against and one abstention.

Writing in her personal blog, Velezinee warns that the new standard for judges’ conduct could give tenure to 19 judges with either prior convictions or allegations of gross misconduct.

If the decision is validated, she writes, the country “stands to inherit” seven judges found guilty of criminal breach of trust by the relevant authorities but not convicted in court; five judges with allegations of criminal breach of trust; two judges who face prosecution for criminal breach of trust; one judge on trial for sexual misconduct; two judges found guilty of sexual misconduct but not tried at court; one judge guilty of a crime with a punishment prescribed in the Quran; and one judge guilty of sexual misconduct and accused of criminal breach of trust.

“It is indeed a sad state of affairs, and an insult to all those honest judges whose integrity and good name is compromised by today’s decision,” writes Velezinee.

Confidence in the judiciary

Velezine told Minivan News today that the JSC decision could lead to eroding public confidence in the judiciary.

Article 285 of the constitution stipulates that the JSC shall determine before 7 August 2010 whether or not the judges on the bench posses the qualifications specified by article 149.

The criteria in the constitution requires that he or she “must possess the educational qualifications, experience and recognized competence necessary to discharge the duties and responsibilities of a judge, and must be of high moral character”.

The JSC’s decision went “against the purpose” of the constitutional provision, said Velezinie: “I believe this was a decision taken by four men raising their hands. It is a matter of national interest as public perception will be affected if people can’t trust the honesty of judges.”

Moreover, it was of the utmost importance to inspire public trust in the judiciary “to avoid democracy failing because of a weak judiciary”.

Velezinie said official records show that some judges “have convictions from other institutions” such as the former Anti-Corruption Board.

“As you know, in the past we did not have a culture where everything was decided by the courts,” she said, adding that the judgments were passed in accordance with the old constitution.

After delaying and “failing in its primary task” of reappointing judges until August last year, a subcommittee chaired by Civil Service Commission President Dr Mohamed Latheef was formed to draft guidelines for the standards.

But, she added, the final report of the committee comprised of “four judges and Dr Latheef” was only presented last Sunday.

Abuse of power

Both Velezinee and Attorney General Husnu Suood have accused Supreme Court Justice Mujthaz Fahmy, president of the JSC, of “abusing the authority of his position” to delay and obstruct the reappointment process.

While Velezinee said Mujthaz Fahmy was among the 19 judges with prior records, Suood accused Fahmy of holding up the promotion of rival judges for “personal reasons”.

Suood said the judges on the commission were “not cooperating” with the task of reappointing judges.

Supreme Court Justice Mujthaz Fahmy
Supreme Court Justice Mujthaz Fahmy

However, Judge Fahmy has denied the allegations: “Velezinee is lying if she really said that. That’s incorrect information.”

Fahmy stressed that the process of screening judges for reappointment had not yet begun and yesterday’s meeting was to “discuss the guidelines drafted by the subcommittee”.

The commission will go through old records and judges with prior convictions in court would be “disqualified”, he said.

Fahmy said he had “complete confidence” that the process could be completed by the August 7 deadline.

Apart from reappointment, he added, the commission has been active with hearing complaints, evaluating judges for promotion and formulating regulations and a code of ethics.

On the allegations of abuse of power, Fahmy said he doubted Suood would have accused him of it as the commission’s proceedings take place in accordance with the regulations and all members have an equal say.

“I wouldn’t say that judges have an undue influence in the commission as we don’t have a majority,” he said. “There are three judges on the ten-member commission”.

“Runaway judiciary”

Meanwhile, Ibrahim Ismail “Ibra”, former MP for Male’ and chairman of the drafting committee of the Special Majlis, the assembly that revised the constitution, said the substance of the criteria in article 149 was not limited to convictions.

“The assumption is that judges will have a higher than average standard of conduct,” he said. “Judges should be exemplary figures. So even if they have not been convicted of a crime, it does not mean they automatically have the code of conduct expected from a judge. They are expected to exhibit moral standing.”

He added that the JSC’s decision was tantamount to “the lowering of the standard expected from judges”.

Moreover, he said, the JSC was not empowered to “set standards by themselves” as the constitution grants that power to the People’s Majlis.

The parliamentary committee on independent institutions could order the commission to overturn its decision, Ibra continued, or establish standards and criteria for judges’ qualifications in the Judicature Act.

Ibra predicted that the decision will lead to escalating tension between the executive and the judiciary, which would have “very negative consequences”.

“Sadly, because of the actions of some judges who want to subvert the constitution for their own purpose, the credibility of the entire judiciary will be diminished,” he said.

While the Supreme Court was making “some headway” in reforming the judiciary, the courts did not inspire “a great deal of confidence from the public”.

Ibra speculated that judges understood “a divided Majlis cannot not hold the judiciary accountable” as the “comics in there can’t agree on anything”.

In the absence of effective oversight, he ventured, the judiciary was “having its heyday”.

Parliament exercising its authority to set minimum standards for judges would not be a solution either, Ibra argued: “Because the JSC is dominated by judges and the old guard, they will disregard it and even strike down laws.”

Judicial independence

In June last year, the Judges Association called for a constitutional review to change the composition of the JSC to allow only members of the judiciary on the commission.

The procedure for the removal of judges laid out in article 154 requires the JSC to find that the judge is grossly incompetent and submit a resolution to parliament for the removal of the judge.

A judge could only be dismissed if a two-thirds majority of MPs present and voting support the resolution.

Ibra said some judges were misinterpreting the “independence of the judiciary” to mean that “judges were above the law”.

“What I see happening is that some people are arguing that no organ of the state can influence or dictate anything to the judiciary,” he said. “That is not independence. That is putting them above the law.”

After two years of the JSC, he added, most people would agree on “the wisdom of the Special Majlis” in constituting the commission.

According to Article 158 of the constitution, the JSC shall consist of the speaker of parliament, an MP and a member of the general public appointed by parliament; three judges each elected from the Supreme Court, High Court and the trial courts and a private lawyer elected among licensed lawyers; the Chair of the Civil Service Commission, a person appointed by the president and the attorney general.

“In retrospect if I could change anything in the constitution, I would argue that the time has not yet come to keep any judges on the commission,” Ibra said.

Moreover, he said, the current judiciary faced an acute lack of qualified professionals with an “adequate” grasp of the constitution and the laws of the country.

“What I see is a runaway judiciary that will become increasingly tyrannical, that will pass judgment on people and no one can hold them accountable.”

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Addicts, dealers and NGOs: dealing with drugs in the Maldives

A coalition of local NGOs conducted a workshop yesterday to review new drug laws proposed by the government.

Ahmed Adam, chairperson of drugs NGO Journey, said drug abuse was a “national issue” that urgently required a solution.

”We wish the MPs would cooperate with us hope they do not think this bill was politically motivated,” he said.

A number of participants at the workshop expressed concern about the difficulty they had reaching MPs. Adam said MPs had not even attended meetings to discuss the bill despite numerous invitations.

Among the NGOs represented at the workshop were Journey, Hand to Hand, Maldivian Detainee Network and Transparency Maldives.

History of drug use

Adam, a recovered drug addict, spoke briefly about the history of drug use in the Maldives.

Historical documents that reveal travellers who visited to the Maldives in the 16th century observed opium being used inside the palace, he said.

Moreover, in the 18th century, Indian traders introduced cannabis to the country.

”In 1972, with the advent of tourism in the country, most people started smoking grass,” he said.

The government was only alerted to what was happening much later, he added.

Adam said ‘brown sugar’, the low-grade heroin that is prevalent in the country, was introduced after the mass arrests of marijuana users in the early 90s.

A drug centre was established for the first time in the Maldives in 1997.

NGOs discussion

The discussions at the workshop focused on both the reasons why people get hooked on drugs and methods of prevention.

NGOs were divided into four groups and together discussed the drug epidemic and ways to solve it.

Among the factors identified that drove people to drug use were parental neglect, congestion and lack of privacy and space at home that draws children out to streets, peer pressure, lifestyle decisions as well as lack of job opportunities and proper role models.

The NGOs argued in favour of categorisation of drugs in the bill and called for the introduction of different methods and models for treatment apart from the existing therapeutic community (TC) model.

TC was not adequate for all types of drug addicts, they insisted.

While drug smuggling could be prevented by imposing penalties on customs officials suspected of accepting bribes, higher penalties should be imposed on convicted drug dealers, they agreed.

Drug traffickers and money they earn

Minivan News spoke anonymously to an individual who divulged information on drug trafficking in the Maldives.

He claimed that he sold drugs because he felt “pity for the sick people” [drug addicts] and did not want “to isolate them from society.”

He added that he did not face “any trouble” in attracting customers.

”If we sell good quality stuff to one person, he will go and tell his friends that we have good stuff and they also will start buying from us,” he said.

He claimed to earn “at least Rf15,000 every day” (US$1167) selling drugs, approximately Rf465,000 per month (US$36,186).

”Everyday one person will buy at least three to five packets, sometimes people from the islands come and buy 40 packets also,” he said, claiming that each 0.03 gram packet (of brown sugar) cost Rf100.

Almost one or two kilograms were smuggled into the country at a time, he explained.

The rise in crime was because drug addicts needed to feed their addiction, he said.

“All gangs are operated by people and money. Gangs earn money by selling drugs. If someone gets stabbed also the gangs would provide them with medication and financial assistance.”

Moreover, he said, “gangsters” would not have any source of income without dealing drugs.

“Real drug dealers” meanwhile, do not use drugs themselves, he said. The drug of choice for Maldivian youth was brown sugar, he added.

“There’s also hash oil, ‘white stuff’ and Charas [resin from the hemp plant] also in the market.”

While more treatment facilities and job opportunities should be offered to combat drug addiction, he said, ”drug dealers should be stopped first, but [the government] can never do that. Drug dealers are assisted by high-profile people in the country,” he said.

“First, they should figure out who they are and stop them, then come after the drug dealers. Then there will be no drug abusers in the country.”

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Boy drowns in Male swimming pool

An 11 year old boy drowned last night in the swimming area in south Male’, after he became entangled in some rope underwater.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said that police received a report of the incident at 10:20pm last night.

”Police officers were there within five minutes,” Shiyam said.

Shiyam said that police officers noted that the boy was not breathing when he was taken out from the water.

”We provided first aid to the kid before he was taken to hospital,” Shiyam said, “but he dead when we took him to the hospital.”

A person familiar with the incident told Minivan News that the boy went to the sea with a group of children who were of almost the same age, including his own brother.

He said that the kids were playing a game in the sea.

”They were playing a game where each one of them went under the water holding their breath, and picked up sand,” he explained.

He said that when the boy did not resurface for a while everybody started to panic.

”His brother went down to see what happened to him and he also did not come up,” he said. ”The boy’s leg was stuck in a loose rope tied to a stone beneath the water.”

He said the boy’s brother tried desperately to save him, ”but he was out of breath and had to come up. His brother was still under water.”

He said that shortly afterwards two men came and were able to pull the boy from the water and call police.

”His brother who tried to save him is still admitted to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital,” he said. ”He was taken to IGMH because he had breathing problems because he hold his breath for a long time,”

He said the boy who died was a student in Imaduddeen School.

He was buried after the Afternoon Prayers today.

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DRP calls on MIFCO to raise purchasing price

The opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has called on the Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO) to raise its purchasing price for tuna to Rf10, reports Miadhu.

Speaking at a rally in the fishing village of Gaaf Alif Villigili, DRP Vice-President Ibrahim “Mavota” Shareef said the price had been raised to Rf10 in the past and there was no reason it should stay atRf7.

Shareef claimed that the fisheries ministry was not informed before Adhil Saleem, state minister for economic development, took over management of MIFCO’s Koodoo Fisheries Complex.

The controversy over Koodoo shows the lack of coordination and organisation in the government, Shareef said.

Moreover, he said, despite Adhil Saleem’s efforts, the greivances of Koodoo staff, who had staged protests last month over reduced benefits and working hours, were still unresolved.

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14 new islands to be leased for resort development

The government has decided to lease 14 new islands for resort development to finance regional airports and housing projects.

According to the government gazette, six islands will be leased on a tender basis to develop regional airports in Dhaalu Atoll Kudahuvadhoo, Thaa Atoll Thimarafushi, Shaviyani Atoll Funadhoo, Gaaf Dhaal Maavedhhoo, Gaa Alif Atoll Raavereha and Fuvahmulah.

A further eight islands will be leased to raise funds for housing development and housing subsidies.

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Three new island councillors appointed

President Mohamed Nasheed has yesterday appointed three new island councillors with local council elections due to take place later this year.

The councillors were Mohamed Azleen as the councillor of Haa Alif Vashafaru, Mohamed Sadiq as the councillor of Haa Alif Thakandhoo and Ali Rasheed as the councillor of Noonu Manadhoo.

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MDP wins Democracy and Human Rights award

The ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) , the first political party in the Maldives, has been awarded the Norwegian conservative party’s ‘Democracy and Human Rights’ prize.

The award was accepted on behalf of MDP by Ibrahim Hussein Zaki, special envoy of the president, at a ceremony at Oslo on Saturday.

Along with Zaki, Hulhumeedhoo MP Ilyas Labeeb will address the annual convention of the Norwegian conservative party.

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Govt owes civil servants, says DRP

The amount reduced from civil servants pay this year constitutes “a debt owed to civil servants by the government” which had to be paid back, Kendhoo MP Ahmed Thasmeen Ali has said.

At an opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party rally in Gaaf Alif Villigili on Friday, the party’s newly elected leader said if the government refuses, the DRP would make sure that funds were allocated in next year’s budget to pay back civil servants.

Last month, the civil court ruled that the finance ministry did not have the authority to overrule the Civil Service Commission on determining salaries and allowances of civil servants.

While the commission ordered government ministries to prepare salary sheets to give out the restored salaries from January onward, the finance ministry has insisted that the “special economic circumstances” that warranted pay cuts in October last year had not passed.

“It is a debt owed to civil servants by the Maldivian government,” said Thasmeen. “It has to be paid back sometime. This is very clear in legal terms. The legal framework of the country does not allow the government to chip away at salaries whenever they want.”

The attorney general’s office has lodged an appeal at the High Court challenging the civil court ruling. The High Court has issued a preliminary injunction ordering all parties involved to restrain from any course of action until its final deliberation.

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