President ratifies Penal Code Bill

President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom has ratified the Penal Code Bill. The Penal Code has now been published on the government gazette.

Speaker of the Parliament Abdulla Shahid sent the Penal Code to the President for ratification on 2 April. The Penal Code was passed on 1 April 2014, at the Fifth Sitting of the First Session of the parliament, with 49 votes in favour.

The new Penal Code - which replaces the previous penal code enacted in 1961 - includes categorisation of crimes and tables for penalties, and has eliminated exile as a criminal punishment.

The Penal Code Bill was received by the Parliament in 2006 and was in committee review for over eight years. The Penal Code, which contains 1,204 articles, will come into force twelve months from ratification.