UN expresses concern over suspension of Supreme Court judges

Margaret Satterthwaite, the UN Special Rapporteur of the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, has raised concern about Maldives' suspension of three Supreme Court Justices.

In a post on X, Satterthwaite said she was "concerned about a series of actions which, separately and in combination, appear to be aimed at undermining the Supreme Court’s judicial independence."

This comes after Husnu Suood and Dr Azmiralda brought the matter to the attention of the UN.

The United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner has also released a press conference regarding the situation, detailing that the disciplinary actions against judges, Dr. Azmiralda Zahir, Mahaz Ali Zahir, and Husnu Suood were "reportedly to prevent judicial review of an amendment to the Maldives Constitution last November which introduced anti-defection measures for members of Parliament."

"The disciplinary proceedings brought against three of the Supreme Court’s Justices appear to violate the principle that judges can only be dismissed on serious grounds of misconduct or incompetence and in accordance with fair procedures guaranteeing objectivity and impartiality as provided for by the Constitution or the law,” Satterthwaite also expressed said.

“The pressure of suspensions, disciplinary proceedings and investigations may amount to an interference in the independence of this institution.”

She also pointed out that Azmiralda and Mahaz's lawyers were not given the opportunity to speak at the disciplinary proceeding and that these proceedings were not made public.

According to the press brief, Satterthwaite is in contact with the Maldivian government regarding these allegations.

Azmiralda, Mahaz and Husnu Suood were informed of their suspension just minutes before a hearing on the anti-defection amendment was scheduled to take place.

At the time the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) said that they acted on information provided by the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC), which claimed that there were active investigations against the three judges. Despite this, the ACC has not revealed what these investigations were about.

The JSC, however, launched investigations against the judges. Husnu Suood is accused of berating an assistant registrar of the High Court, while Azmiralda and Mahaz are accused of being present when this took place.

A separate allegation is also being pursued against Azmiralda and Mahaz, which claims that they called Criminal Court judges and pressured them to release Azmiralda's husband - an anaesthesiologist - from custody after he was arrested.

The Special Rapporteur also noted that on February 25, a bill was adopted in Parliament to amend the Judicature Act and reduce the size of the Supreme Court bench from seven to five judges and require the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to submit the names of two judges to be removed from the Supreme Court bench for incompetence.

However this amendment is yet to be enacted.

While Husnu Suood has resigned following the accusations, former Chief Judge of the High Court, Hussain Shaheed, was appointed to the Supreme Court as Mahaz and Azmiralda remain suspended and under investigation.

As of Thursday, the investigative had concluded their investigations, and submitted their findings to JSC. If the commission decides to remove Azmiralda and Mahaz, the Supreme Court would be left with five judges.