The parliament’s decision to reduce the number of sitting judges at the Supreme Court bench by amending the Judicature Act in 2014 has been appealed with the apex court. 

It is yet unclear if the court has accepted the case. It was filed by prominent lawyer Maumoon Hameed, who was twice named to be Prosecutor General, along with Shahin Hameed and Hassan Ma’az Shareef. 

In December 2014, the parliament passed to reduce the number of sitting judges from seven to five. This prompted the dismissal of Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz and Justice Muthasim Adnan. 

The amendment called on the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), the statutory body that oversees the Maldivian justice system, to recommend two names for removal.

Later in December, after discussions with the JSC, parliamentarians voted to remove the Justices Faiz and Adnan, who were reportedly given neither a warning nor an explanation. 

The case filed at the Supreme Court aims to deem the parliament and JSC’s dismissal of the two justices as unconstitutional and unfair, further describing it as a hindrance to the governing principle of separating powers. 

The JSC and the parliament are yet to explain why Justices Faiz and Adnan were selected for removal.