In his fiftieth weekly radio address, President Mohamed Nasheed discussed the criteria to determine qualifications of judges drawn up by the Judicial Service Commission, MDP’s decision to dissolve its pre-election agreement with Gaumee Iththihaadh Party (GIP), government’s housing project and Guantanamo Bay issue.

Criteria to determine qualifications of judges

The President has expressed concern over the criteria drawn up by the Judicial Service Commission to determine the qualifications of judges under Article 285 of the Constitution.
The Judicial Service Commission, which is mandated under Article 285 of the Constitution to determine whether or not judges in office possessed the qualifications of judges as in Article 149, approved the criteria on 10 May.

Article 149 (a) says “a person appointed as a judge in accordance with law, must possess the educational qualifications, experience and recognized competence necessary to discharge the duties and responsibilities of a judge, and must be of high moral character.”

The President noted that under the Judicial Services Commission’s criteria:

A “level-3” certificate in Shari’a or law – which corresponds to a qualification of Grade 7 – or above was deemed acceptable as educational qualification; being in office as a judge was deemed sufficient experience; and, not having been found guilty of an offence identified under the 29 criminal offences determined by the Commission was sufficient as ‘high moral character’.

President Nasheed said the criteria would hinder proper administration of justice in the country and were “worrying”, adding that the complexity of current court cases meant proper educational qualifications were necessary.

VP’s role

Responding to recent political developments, including the decision of the Maldivian Democratic Party to dissolve its pre-election agreement with the Gaumee Iththihaad Party (GIP), President Nasheed said he was “satisfied” with his working relationship with the Vice President.

He said: “The Vice President executes effectively what I ask of him. His continued good counsel is one of the reasons why I can confidently do my job.

“So, in my mind, whenever we disagree, it is not wise to take the matter to extreme.”

In his radio addressed, the President extensively discussed the government’s housing project to provide 10,000 housing units.

Discussing the government’s intention to allow two persons from the Guantanamo Bay detainee centre in the Maldives, President Nasheed said the government was ready to “fully cooperate” with the People’s Majlis’s National Security Committee.