Two police officers pass through Supreme Court gate guarded by the armed forces Sunday morning. HAVEERU PHOTO/ NASRULLA SALIH
MALE, August 8, 2010 (HNS) – President Mohamed Nasheed decreed administrative functioning of Supreme Court to a four-member committee at midnight Saturday hours after Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) withheld keys to the court amid a major legal row over the continuation of several state institutions as the interim period of the constitution expired pending parliament decisions.
Attorney General (AG) Husnu Suood resigned Sunday morning “accepting responsibility for the failure of the state.”
Prosecutor General (PG) Ahmed Muizz pressed charges against the state seeking a temporary warrant for the release of Supreme Court keys.
Interim Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed condemned the government’s move calling it “unconstitutional.”
Chaos struck when parliament failed to convene at the eleventh hour Saturday to settle mandatory transitional matters including the appointment of a Chief Justice and four judges to the Supreme Court.
“The President has issued a decree, assigning administrative functioning of Supreme Court and Department of Judicial Administration to [four officials], until the Supreme Court stated in article 145 of the constitution is formed,” a statement issued by the President’s Office read.
The office further claimed that members of Civil Service Commission (CSC) and Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) and several diplomats who, according to the constitution, must be endorsed by the parliament within the two-year interim period are no longer at their posts.
MPs of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP)-led opposition were at loggerheads Saturday over the order of agenda items set for a crucial sitting eventually called off in the evening after three postponements.
The opposition controlled parliament’s failure to reach consensus led to a MDP demonstration outside parliament house. The protestors clashed with police but disbanded on riot police request one and half hours later. There were no casualties.
Early Sunday morning the armed forces opened Supreme Court and President Nasheed’s Political Advisor Hassan Afeef, Special Envoy Ibrahim Hussain Zaki and State Minister Aslam Shakir met the court’s staff. Supreme Court judges, including Chief Justice stayed home “for fear of being blocked by the armed forces on arrival at the court’s gate.”
Three Civil Court judges conducted a hearing into PG’s charges against the state pending a ruling on the release of keys at time of press. The hearing was held in AG Office absentia. The office did not respond to the charges or explain its absence in court, judges said. The Civil Court ruled that the interim Supreme Court would remain until the formation of a permanent Supreme Court. The court also ordered Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) and other relevant authorities to release the key to Supreme Court at any time of request.
Less than an hour after the hearing Haveeru confirmed that AG Suood had submitted his resignation to President Nasheed. The resignation was “accepting blame,” Suood told Haveeru exclusively.
“I believe all state institutions have failed to perform their duties and someone has to accept responsibility,” he said.
“Parliament Speaker must also resign and even MPs have to accept blame.”
Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry suspended ambassadors to Sri Lanka, China, and Saudi Arabia, as the parliament had not endorsed them for the positions by the transition period deadline.
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