The government has sent the Right to Protection of Name and Reputation Bill to the People's Majlis, providing for compensation of up to MVR 500,000 for defamation.

The bill will be submitted on behalf of the government by Vilimalé MP Mohamed Ismail at the People's Majlis sitting scheduled for this afternoon.

According to the bill, its purpose is to safeguard the legal protection of every person's right to the protection of their name and reputation under Article 33 of the Constitution of the Republic of Maldives.

The bill aims to strike an appropriate balance between the right to freedom of expression in society and the protection of individuals' reputations, and to establish that a person whose reputation has been harmed has the right to have the truth disclosed, to reply, or to have the matter corrected.

The bill also states that one of its key objectives is to establish defamation as a civil offence.

The bill defines what constitutes defamation. In addition to detailing the circumstances that will be considered defamation, it sets out the principles for seeking an apology from the person responsible and for proposing compensation.

The bill also sets out the principles for a person whose reputation has been harmed to file a case in court seeking compensation, and for awarding compensation.

Under the bill, nothing that defames a particular person may be published or included in any writing published using the internet, a website, social media, an online newspaper, a blog, or any other material or medium published via the internet.

Under the bill, compensation for non-material damage to the claimant's reputation caused by defamation will be an amount between MVR 50,000 and MVR 500,000, depending on the extent of the damage.