Parliament has on Monday accepted an amendment to the Judicature Act of the Maldives, seeking to increase the number of judges at the High Court.

The bill was passed for consideration with 34 lawmakers voting in favor of it, and has been sent to the parliament’s Committee on Independent Institutions for review.

While the High Court currently has seven judges, with three placed in its Southern Branch, the Judicature Act states that the High Court must have nine judges.

The amendment to the Act, proposed by MP Ibrahim Falah, seeks to increase the number by two, to 11.

While Article 27 (a) of the Judicature Act of Maldives states that the High Court “constitutes of a total number of nine judges including the Chief Judge”, the amendment submitted says that the court must have a total of 11 judges, including the Chief Judge.

The amendment also noted that if passed, the judges at the High Court will remain so, and that the additional judges must be appointed within three months after it is passed and ratified by the President.

Falah said that the reason for the amendment is because “of the increasing number of cases being filed at court and to conclude the cases at a faster pace”.