President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has ratified the Second Amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act, which was passed by the Parliament of the Maldives on June 29.
With the new amendment, judges are provided the discretion to hold court through audio and video conferencing means, if special circumstances warrant. In determining whether special circumstances exist, judges may refer to factors such as the country being under a state of emergency or if the country has suffered a crisis which makes travelling to court unsafe. Judges can also determine a circumstance as special if parties cannot bear the costs of travelling to court, are unable to travel in inclement weather, or do not have access to adequate transport-arrangements, especially in light of the Maldives’ dispersed geography.
Furthermore, the amendment states if there are unforeseen challenges in conducting regular trials within a respective jurisdiction and if delays would hinder access to justice, judges can hold the court through audio and video conferencing means. Despite judges’ discretion to determine if it is appropriate to hold trials through audio or video conferencing means, they may proceed with such arrangements only if the defendant does not object.
The amendment also stipulates that recordings of court sessions held via audio and video conferencing methods must be stored and archived for 25 years after the conclusion of the trial. In addition, a chapter on the enactment of special procedures during State of Emergencies and crises has been added prior to the 30th chapter of the aforementioned Act.
Upon ratification, the amendment has now been published in the Government Gazette.