The Judicial Service Commission's (JSC) suspension of the three Supreme Court justices is unlawful, lawyer Mahfooz Saeed has said.
At a press conference held by the legal team involved in the constitutional case on MP disqualification, Mahfooz said the JSC Act does not allow immediate suspension upon submission of a complaint against a judge.
“Article 25 of the Judicial Service Commission Act states that when a case is filed against a judge, the decision to temporarily remove the judge from the post for not more than 60 days shall be based on the nature of the case, the evidence presented, the impact on the investigation if the judge is not suspended and the basis of maintaining trust in the judiciary," he said.
Mahfooz said the current legal system is not designed to suspend judges immediately after a complaint is submitted.
"The Judicial Service Commission has not looked at any of this. Especially we clearly know that they have not looked at the basis of maintaining the trust in the judiciary," Mahfooz said.
Mahfooz said the parliament has been changed to a place where President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu acts as he wants, taking over the JSC powers to deprive the Supreme Court of its powers while the case most connected to the people has been stopped.
He said the system of three separate powers in Maldives has been shattered as a result of these actions.
JSC confirmed to Adhadhu that Justices Husnu Suood, Mahaz Ali Zahir and Dr. Azmiralda Zahir were suspended.
It came after the People's Majlis passed an amendment bill today to remove two justices from the Supreme Court bench. This changes the Supreme Court composition into a five-member bench.
