Supreme Court of the Maldives has decided to conduct online trials despite the lifting of the State of Public Health Emergency.
In a statement, the Supreme Court said the Practice Direction of the Supreme Court has also ended following the declaration of the lifting of the State of Public Health Emergency. The Supreme Court noted the State of Public Health Emergency has facilitated the efficient and speedy completion of trials, adding conducting online trials resulted in speedy, easy, and cost-effective to the court.
Therefore, the top court revealed that the judge investigating the case has the authority to conduct hearings of cases via audio and video conferencing, and to conduct administrative and procedural proceedings related to hearings, in a manner that does not undermine the rules of justice, except in cases where the law states that the trial cannot be conducted via audio and video.
The Supreme Court concluded 25% more cases last year compared to 2020. The court has previously stated that major changes have been brought to the administration of the court due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this regard, the new regulations formulated last year included the changes found to strengthen and speed up trials.