Former President Nasheed has said that cases from lower courts being taken by Supreme Court, is a loss of the opportunity for the defence within the trial in High Court. He added that this process is not what is dictated by the Constitution.

President Nasheed said today, that the Constitution allows every case to pass through three different levels to reach a final conclusion. He said however, that Judges taking control of case documents and carrying out a ruling declaring that this is what they believe, is not dictated by the Constitution. President Nasheed added that this is not how cases proceed in a progressed environment.

He said that the Chief Justice passing a ruling on a charge that has not been officially submitted or where the Prosecutor General has not raised charges by the State, is a ruling that does not exist.

President Nasheed noted that the Judicial Administration will be an independent one, under the Maldivian democratic Party’s (MDP) Parliamentary Agenda ‘19. He added that the operations of the courts are not a designated task for judges.

President Nasheed said that if judges are tasked the same as the Judicial Service Commission, they would have to upkeep maintenance efforts such as air conditioning inside courts. Similar to maintenance efforts of court buildings, he said that the salary of court staff are also not a matter for the judges.