Parliament passes AGO bill to remove AG Office from civil service

Attorney General Ahmed Usham: Parliament passes to remove Attorney General’s Office (AGO) from civil service. (Photo/President's Office)

The Parliament, on Thursday, passed the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) bill, to remove the office from civil service and grant it greater autonomy.

The Parliament initially rejected the AGO bill and sent it back to the Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, despite debating ruling PNC lawmakers, who hold the supermajority, debating in favor of the legislature just hours earlier.

The Committee held a meeting at 9:00pm on Wednesday, where they sent it back to the Parliament floor after major revisions. They include:

Empowering the president to appoint and dismiss and the deputy attorney general
Empowering the attorney general to decide on the structure of employees, including the posts of deputy attorney general and secretary general
Retirement with benefits for staff who have worked at AGO for 20 years and staff who have worked at AGO for 10 years alongside another office for 10 years

The revised bill was approved with the votes of 66 MPs out of the 72 MPs in attendance. The remaining six MPs abstained from voting.

The government-backed bill was submitted by ruling PNC’s South Maafannu MP Abdulla Rifau.

According to the government, the purpose of the bill is “to establish a designated government institution in the name of the Attorney General’s Office that is separate from the Maldivian civil service in order to execute the responsibilities and duties mandated of the Attorney General.”

As per the bill, the staff of the AGO will be distributed into two categories; legal service and administrative service. Their salaries will be determined by the Finance Ministry in accordance with the policies formulated by the National Pay Commission.

The bill also allows the option of enrolling AGO’s staff in an appropriate health insurance scheme.

The AGO bill also details the requirements, responsibilities and duties required of the Attorney General. As well as the responsibilities of the AGO, and the responsibilities of the staff and the standards they need to adhere to.