Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has opened applications for the post of Chief Justice, following the retirement of Chief Justice Ahmed Muthasim Adnan.

Applications must be submitted through the JSC’s Faires portal by 12 noon on 29 July. Online applicants do not need to submit passport photos, while those submitting hard copies can deliver them to the Commission’s official residence. Justice Abdulla Hameed has been appointed to temporarily oversee the Supreme Court.

Before his retirement, the JSC proposed increasing benefits for judges, including MVR 70,000 per month each for travel and living allowances. If approved, Justice Muthasim’s retirement package would have increased from MVR 185,100 to MVR 493,600, but Parliament rejected the proposal. Current rules allow retired chief justices to receive one-third of their basic salary based on their years of service, while medical insurance remains unchanged after retirement.

Justice Muthasim, who had been unwell since December last year, was expected to retire. He was first appointed to the Supreme Court on 10 August 2010 and served until 2014 before being removed. In 2019, former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih nominated him as Chief Justice, and he was sworn in on 8 December 2019. He previously served as director of the legal section at the Ministry of External Affairs, dean of the Faculty of Shariah and Law at the Maldives College of Higher Education, and partner at Clipper & Gallion Law Associates.