Ex-AG Anil heads committee to seek review of ITLOS’ decision

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s administration has set up a special committee to seek a review of the decision of the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in the disputed maritime territory between Maldives and Mauritius.

In a statement on Tuesday, the President’s Office (PO) said the new administration finds the former Maldivian administration’s stand in the dispute to be in contravention of Maldives’ constitution and laws, and damaging to the country’s highest interests.

The PO said that the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has been charged with seeking a review of ITLOS’ decision – a move which is a component of the administration’s ‘Hafuthaa 14’ roadmap.

As such, the AGO has collected and is reviewing all relevant documents, according to the PO.

“They have also started seeking counsel from top local and international experts regarding the state’s legal position and actions on behalf of the former administration in this dispute,” said the PO.

The administration has appointed a three-member committee to conduct the work.

The committee is composed of:

• Mohamed Anil, former attorney general
• Colonel Ahmed Mujthaba (Defense Ministry)
• Ahmed Shiyan, secretary, multilateral (Foreign Ministry)

According to the PO, the committee will be headed by Anil, who is working for the committee free of charge.

The PO said that Attorney General Ahmed Usham has decided to present a report on the former administration’s legal position and actions in the dispute to President Muizzu and to the Parliament, and will release information once the work is done.

The PO said that the documents collected in the case includes a letter sent by then-President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to the Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth on August 22, 2022. The PO attached the letter with the statement.

Solih had repeatedly stated that the letter expressed Maldives’ recognition of Mauritius’ sovereign authority over Chagos archipelago, and that it bears no relation to the legal position taken by Maldives at ITLOS regarding the overlapping maritime territory.