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Judiciary of the Maldives
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Judiciary of the Maldives
The Judiciary in the Maldives has been a systematic institution throughout the history of the nation. It has always been an institution which is under the full control of the Head of State and is still to some degree. 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. Consequently, the present legal system of the country is a mixture of not only Shari’ah and customs, but the English legal system also.
According to Allama Ahmed Shihabuddine of Meedhoo, the son of Addu Bodu Fandiyaaru Thakurufaanu, the first inhabitants of the Maldives, the Dheyvis, 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 held 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.
According to Isdhoo Loamaafaanu, a historical document of the Maldives written in 1195 A.C., there was a set of customs implemented as law in the country when Islam came in 1153 A.C. This set of customs was known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.
Within a century after the colonization of the Maldives by the Dheyvis, another wave of travellers 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.
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. This document refers to a "padiyaaru" and an "uthu padiyaaru". 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".
The "padiyaaru, the judge, was an esteemed and respected leader of the society. This can be understood from the references in the Isdhoo Loamaafaanu. ‘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. The powerfulness of the judges can be understood from an incident recorded in the Isdhoo Loamaafaanu. According to this report the judges issued orders for some Buddhist monks of Isdhoo to be brought to Male’ and beheaded. The orders also included a commandment to demolish a monastery in the same island. According to the report these orders were executed as directed by the judges.
The reports in the Isdhoo Loamaafaanu also indicate that the judges did not meddle with other political affairs of the state. This fact does not mean that the judiciary was an independent institution in the political organization of the Maldives. But the institution involved in the administration of justice was a completely specialized institution, with the judges concerned only about their task as judicial officials. 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. The judiciary of the Maldives was a separate institution in the political organization of the country.
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Judiciary of the Maldives
The Judiciary in the Maldives has been a systematic institution throughout the history of the nation. It has always been an institution which is under the full control of the Head of State and is still to some degree. 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. Consequently, the present legal system of the country is a mixture of not only Shari’ah and customs, but the English legal system also.
According to Allama Ahmed Shihabuddine of Meedhoo, the son of Addu Bodu Fandiyaaru Thakurufaanu, the first inhabitants of the Maldives, the Dheyvis, 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 held 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.
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.
Within a century after the colonization of the Maldives by the Dheyvis, another wave of travellers 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.
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. This document refers to a "padiyaaru" and an "uthu padiyaaru". 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".
The "padiyaaru, the judge, was an esteemed and respected leader of the society. This can be understood from the references in the Isdhoo Loamaafaanu. ‘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. The powerfulness of the judges can be understood from an incident recorded in the Isdhoo Loamaafaanu. According to this report the judges issued orders for some Buddhist monks of Isdhoo to be brought to Male’ and beheaded. The orders also included a commandment to demolish a monastery in the same island. According to the report these orders were executed as directed by the judges.
The reports in the Isdhoo Loamaafaanu also indicate that the judges did not meddle with other political affairs of the state. This fact does not mean that the judiciary was an independent institution in the political organization of the Maldives. But the institution involved in the administration of justice was a completely specialized institution, with the judges concerned only about their task as judicial officials. 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. The judiciary of the Maldives was a separate institution in the political organization of the country.