Parliament passed legislation on clemency and commuting sentences during its last sitting of the year on Thursday before breaking for a two-month recess.
The bill proposed by the government to set guidelines for the president to grant pardons and commute sentences was passed with 59 votes in favour and two against.
Presenting the committee report, Kulhudhufushi South MP Mohamed Nasheed, chairman of the home affairs committee, said views expressed by MPs during the debate were incorporated in the final draft.
Among the changes made by the committee include adding a provision for aiding interpretation in determining if convicts have exhausted the appeal process, specifying crimes that will not be eligible for pardon and creating a clemency board chaired by the attorney general to advise the president.
The committee further added provisions to authorise the president to commute death sentences to life imprisonment as well as detailing criteria on granting pardons, said Nasheed.
Moreover, criminal records of those convicted under the old constitution would be wiped clean if they were pardoned.
Article 115 of the constitution states the president has the authority “to grant pardons or reductions of sentence as provided by law, to persons convicted of a criminal offence who have no further right of appeal.”
Under the legislation, convicts who did not get a fair trial and those who have exhausted the appeal process will be eligible for release.
Of the 11 amendments proposed to the bill, only four were passed.
In the debate after voting on amendments, MPs stressed the importance of the legislation to grant pardons for people in jail who were wrongfully convicted or sentenced solely on the basis of extracted confessions.
But, several MPs said the president should exercise caution and good judgment in commuting sentences and granting pardons.
In its 82 sittings since being convened in May, parliament has passed eight bills and adopted five resolutions, while 19 bills remain pending at the committee stage.
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