In an open letter, the ICJ called on the Supreme Court of the Maldives and the Department of Judicial Administration to revoke the summary suspensions of dozens of lawyers in the country.
On 10 September 2017, the Department of Judicial Administration (DJA), the administrative arm of the Maldivian judiciary supervised directly by the Supreme Court, suspended 54 lawyers without due process.
Their suspension follows a petition by 56 lawyers (two of whom were already under suspension) that called for reforms to ensure independence of the judiciary.
The lawyers’ suspension, procedurally and substantively, is incompatible with international law and standards, said the ICJ.
The letter can be downloaded here:
Maldives-MaldivesLawyersSuspension-Advocacy-OpenLetters-2017-ENG
Contact:
Frederick Rawski (Bangkok), ICJ Asia Pacific Regional Director, e: frederick.rawski(a)icj.org
Reema Omer, ICJ International Legal Advisor (South Asia) t: +923214968434; e: reema.omer(a)icj.org