President Mohamed Nasheed has ratified the amendments bill to the Judges Act, which was passed by the People’s Majlis on Tuesday evening.

Following ratification, the bill has been published in the Government Gazette.

The amendments were made to Article 15, which specifies the qualifications of judges, and Article 20, which concerns oath-taking of the Supreme Court Judges.

According to the amendment to Article 15, judges must have:

1.    Minimum seven years of experience for Supreme Court
2.    Minimum five years of experience for High Court
3.    Minimum two years of experience for lower court judge

According to Article 20 (d), the Oath of Office for the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court established under Article 145 of the Constitution shall be administered by a Judge of the High Court. It also states that Oath of Office for Judges of the Supreme Court shall be administered by the Chief Justice.
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Source: President’s Office – Press Release Ref. No. 2010-607