Judiciary in the Maldives

The Judiciary in the Maldives has been a systematic institution throughout the history of the nation. It has ever been an institution which is under the full control of the Head of State and it is still so, to some degree. However a radical change occurred during the past decades. It is the introduction of the English legal system into the country; a result of the Maldivian society coming in close contact with the outside world. Consequently, the present legal system of the country is an admixture of not only Shari’ah and customs, but the English legal system also.

The early and medieval history of the Maldives was ignored until recent times. There are few works on the early history of the country and they are also not completely reliable due to lack of historical evidence and immense references to folklore. However, we may safely assume that like other countries of the world, the Maldives also should have had a judicial system from the earliest times of her existence as a state. The judicial system which took a new direction after the country embraced Islam in 1153 A.C. is an heir of the previous system which had evolved centuries ago.

According to Allama Ahmed Shihabuddine of Addu Meedhoo, the son of Addu Bodu Fandiyaaru Thakurufaanu, the first inhabitants of the Maldives, the dheyvi’s, came here around 4th century B.C. and had a leader whom they called ‘Sawamia’. The Sawamia was the religious leader of these people. They thought that this Sawamia was an agent of God and hence, in their social organisation he had absolute power of life and death over the people. He was the authority on their affairs. All disputes and conflicts, whether between two government officials, or a government official and a common person, or between two common people, were decided by the Sawamia.4

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. In this system, the judge was the leader or the Sawamia and the court might have been the leader’s official residence. It may be assumed that the society would have been governed on the basis of some prevailing customs and traditions. According to Isdhoo Loamaafaanu, a historical document of the Maldives written in 1195 A.C., there was a set of customs implemented as law in the country when Islam came in 1153 A.C. This set of customs was known as ‘poorube roodin’.5 From this report also we can deduce that a system of laws was evolved from the very beginning of the Maldivian society.

Within a century after the colonization of the Maldives by the Dheyvis, another wave of travelers came from India and started to occupy the country with the former. The merger of these two people lead to a development of a new society and finally gave rise to an authoritative monarchy. That is the time when the dictations of the King started to absolute; the main source of law in the country.

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Wikipedia