Judiciary of the Maldives

[1] However a radical change occurred during the past decades, the introduction of the English legal system into the country; a result of the Maldivian society coming in close contact with the outside world.

There are few works on the early history of the country they are, however, not completely reliable due to lack of historical evidence and immense references to folklore.

They thought that this Sawamia was an agent of God and hence, in their social organisation he held absolute power of life and death over the people.

When we take the above accounts into considerations we know that from the earliest times the people living in the Maldives had a system which was functioning as a judicial body.

According to Isdhoo Loamaafaanu, a historical document of the Maldives written in 1195 A.C., there was a set of customs implemented as law in the country when Islam came in 1153 A.C.

Islam became the official religion of the state of the Maldives with the conversion of King Theemuge Mahaakalaminjaa into the imported faith in 1153 A.D. As mentioned before the earliest documentary evidence of the Maldivian history of this period is the Isdhoo Loamaafaanu.

It can be easily concluded that the present noun given to a judge in the Dhivehi language, "fandiyaaru" is an evolved version of ‘padiyaaru.

It can also be argued that the Dhivehi noun for Supreme Judge, "uththama fandiyaaru" is a developed version of "uthu padiyaaru".

‘Handhaanaai Thaareekhah Takai Dhivehi Raajje’ has the following words to say, “the nobles listed as testifiers in the Isdhoo Loamaafaanu were people of high caste in the society.

According to this report the judges issued orders for some Buddhist monks of Isdhoo to be brought to Male’ and beheaded.

The same document also refers to an official called ‘dhandanaayaka’ who was responsible for “implementing and executing the judgments and decisions of the judges.” The above references show that during the first century of the Islamic era of the Maldives, there were judges who were specialized in administering justice and that there were special officials who were responsible for implementing the judgments of them.

As aforementioned, according to the Isdhoo Loamaafaanu, a set of customs called ‘poorube roodin’ was implemented as law in the country before the coming of Islam.

During the first century after Islam the judiciary, therefore, underwent a radical change, with a completely alien system of law being introduced.

The years which followed saw the operation of three main sources of law in the country, namely, the Islamic Shari’ah, the decrees of the King and customs.

He was also well versed in the customs and traditions of the Maldivian society.” While writing about the history of the Maldives during the period of Ninth-Twelfth centuries, H. C. P. Bell quotes from the famous Arab traveler-geologist Al Idrisi (1099–1186), “His (the King's) wife administers justice…” Was the queen the highest authority of administering justice from the beginning of political organization?

What is known is that no mention is made of a queen being the highest authority in administering justice in the country in any other document or in folk evidence.

The great traveler Abu Abdullah Muhammad, commonly called ‘Ibn Batuta’, visited the Maldives in 1343 A.C.

… I completely uprooted this custom.” Besides this account, Ibn Batuta also tells us about certain unislamic customs that he abolished by issuing rulings.

The main points of note from the accounts of Ibn Batuta: The judicial system of the Maldives was developing and evolving.

François Pyrard, another foreign writer who has given considerable accounts of the Maldivian judiciary came to the country in 1602 A.C., about four centuries after Ibn Batuta.

If someone wants to file a case he has to meet the Naa’ib.” The following paragraph may be a very comprehensive description of the hierarchy of the Maldivian judiciary during the time of Pyrard.

As the history of the Maldives testifies, the fandiyaaraa is always a person who was capable of exerting influence on the political, internal, and external affairs of the state.

That constitution divided the powers of the State among four different bodies, which were the King, the Cabinet of Ministers, the Legislature, and the Peoples’ Majlis.

Article 80 of this constitution says that “the officials responsible for administering justice are independent as long as they do not, in the process, violate the law.’’ However, another provision has somewhat a contradictory tone.

It provided that there should be a ‘fandiyaaruge’ (a Court) in the Maldives and that the officials of this institution would consist the ‘Uththama fandiyaaru’ (Supreme Judge) and a certain number of Naa’ibs.

It did not give the judiciary the status of a separate organ, and provided that the King was the highest authority in the administration of justice.

This constitution provided that the judge was to be responsible for administering justice in the name of the King and also to uphold the banners of Islam in the country.

This constitution divided the powers of the state into three organs, namely, the President, the Cabinet of Ministers, and the Peoples’ Majilis.

The first article in this chapter provided that the administration of justice would be in the hands of special officials appointed by the President.

According to the present structure of the Maldivian judiciary, the High Court is the highest authority in the administration of justice and this institution is directly under the control of the President.