Bill submitted to Rectify JSC by Tom

Parliamentary Member of Mahibadhoo constituency Mohamed Thoriq (Tom) once again has submitted a bill to the parliament floor to change the workings of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

In August 2020, Tom had submitted a bill to the Parliament floor to reform JSC however, the MDP Majority of the Parliament had rejected the bill.

Reforming JSC is a pledge made by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. Speaking at the news conference that took place on Wednesday, President's Office Spokesperson Mabrook Azeez stated that it is necessary to reform JSC and that they will be working on it soon.

Tom had tweeted today stating that reforming of JSC and changing its preposition as well as change of constitution cannot be postponed. Therefore, a bill has been submitted to the parliament floor.

Revealing the reason for submitting the bill Tom had stated that it is evident that JSC has been influencing judges. When appointing a judge to the courts or giving a promotion or dismissal all comes down to gain political.

Highlighting the recent leaked audio clips of the judges' Tom said that JSC has been using their power and influence over judges when having trials against opposition political members in making a favorable verdict towards JSC. JSC has been assigning judges with the hopes of promotions. However, not fulfilling the promises has made those judges complain. While some judges have admitted to being used by the government in giving a verdict in favor of the government.

Tom has also stated that JSC has been using their influence in threatening judges that has been passing verdicts against the state. Tom also said that some believe that JSC members who are political writing the verdicts.

The JSC is comprised of ten members, including the Speaker of the Parliament, a judge of the Supreme Court, a judge of the High Court, a judge of the Lower Courts, a member of the Parliament, a member of the general public, the President of the Civil Service Commission, a person appointed by the President, the Attorney General, and a lawyer elected from among the lawyers licensed to practice in the Maldives.