People

The People’s Majlis has today passed a motion to extend the duration of Parent Act 2008 by six months. The Parent Act 2008 was passed as an instrument that would give a statutory basis to a number of by-laws in force at the time of the adoption of the new Constitution in August 2008.

The Committee on General Affairs in the Majlis proposed the validity duration of Parent Act to be increased by one year, but the proposition was modified after debate on the floor. The Majlis also assigned the Committee on Subordinate Legislation to monitor the preparation and passage of relevant bills that would annihilate the necessity for a general Parent Act by providing legal bases for existing subordinate legislation.

Today’s proposition was introduced by Mohamed Nasheed, MP for Kulhuduffushi Dhekunu Constituency, and after debate and modifications 57 members voted in favour of the proposition, while 13 members voted against it.

A number of MPs stated during the debate that while the duration of validity for the Parent Act was to expire on the 4th of this August, bills to be proposed in accordance with that Act by the government were not introduced. They also expressed concerns over negative repercussions of this failure on the rights of the people.

The Parent Act 2008 was introduced with a validity period set at 5 August 2010, and the government was required to introduce various legislative propositions that would provide for the subordinate legislation whose basis the Parent Act Provided. However, the legislative propositions have been delayed, and the validity period of the Parent Act was extended for a year. This is the second extension on the Parent Act.