JSC election postponed following injunction

The election to appoint a member representing lawyers to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) scheduled for today has been postponed following an injunction by the Civil Court.

The Civil Court injunction was issued over a case filed by the Chief Magistrate of Gaafu Dhaalu Fiyoree court Abdul Razzaq.

Abdul Razzaq's case states that the procedures established by the Attorney General’s Office to conduct the election were inadequate and that it hinder the right to vote for lawyers in the islands.

Article 11 (a) of an election procedure published by the Attorney General’s Office says that a minimum of 5 lawyers have to register for an island to receive a ballot box. Mohamed Shah, lawyer representing Abdul Razzaq, is seeking to annual the clause.

The injunction signed by Civil Court Chief Judge Ali Rasheed Hussain on Satruday night ordered the Attorney General’s Office and other relevant state institutions to halt the JSC election until a decision is made by the court.

The Chief Judge said he was prepared to make a decision on the case during Saturday night’s hearing. However, the attorney representing the state Maryam Shunana said she needed more time to prepare her argument.

The State however responded to the injunction and also filed a procedural issue arguing that the Civil Court does not have the prerogative to conduct the case.

Anas Abdul Sattar - who intervened in the case as a third party with a credible stake in its outcome - also said that a lower court such as Civil Court does not have the right to dissolve a clause in a regulation.

Judge Ali Rasheed said that the document published by the Attorney General’s Office is not a regulation, but a set of procedures. He also highlighted precedents set by the court where it had annulled clauses in procedures published by the state.

The election amongst lawyers to appoint a representative to the country’s primary judicial oversight body is being contested by lawyer Anas Abdul Sattar, former Deputy Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem, former JSC member Latheefa Gasim and lawyer Mohamed Faisal.