State: Civil Court has no jurisdiction to hear lawsuit over reclamation of Kulhudhuffushi mangrove

The Civil Court has no jurisdiction to hear the lawsuit over reclamation of H. Dh. Kulhudhuffushi mangrove for construction of an airport, says the State prosecution.

The law suit was filed against the State by ECOCARE Maldives – a non-profit organization – which claims the reclamation is being carried out without proper measures to protect the environment. The first hearing in the case was held at Civil Court this Sunday.

Speaking at the hearing, the State prosecutor raised a procedural issue and declared Civil Court has no jurisdiction to hear the case, and that the jurisdiction to hear the case lay with the Kulhudhuffushi Magistrate Court.

Civil Court provided ECOCARE with time to prepare a response to the claim at the next hearing.

ECOCARE has asked the Civil Court to order the State to follow the Environment Assessment Report made on the airport construction project.

A similar lawsuit was filed by a privet citizen to the Kulhudhuffushi Magistrate Court earlier. The lawsuit was rejected by the court.