Maldives

In 2008, the Maldives adopted a new Constitution, and over the last decade, the country has sought to strengthen democratic institutions, but with frequent setbacks. These democratic institutions include the People’s Majlis, which is the unicameral legislative chamber, and the judiciary, which is represented across the country’s 26 atolls. President Ibrahim Mohamed Solid came into power in 2018 and introduced an ambitious Strategic Action Plan for the years 2019 – 2023, which details the national development agenda. It proposes numerous reforms to address structural challenges – in particular, rule of law and judicial reforms, countering violent extremism, national security and public safety, state accountability and transparency, public services reforms as well as gender equality.

Between April 2019 and December 2020, the Foundation successfully implemented the ‘Strengthening the Rule of Law in the Maldives‘ project, funded by the German Federal Foreign Office. This project aimed to support the ambitious legislative and judicial reform agenda introduced by the new Government, democratically elected in 2018. It did this by building the legislative drafting capacity of Parliamentarians, staff at the Attorney General’s Office, the Secretariat of the People’s Majlis, and members of civil society; offering these institutions technical legal assistance; and enhancing the knowledge of the lower judiciary and Supreme Court on topics such as international human rights law, constitutional law and judicial ethics.

Building on this initial project, between April 2021 and March 2023, the Foundation implemented the ‘Stabilising the Rule of Law by Supporting the Reform Agenda of the Republic of Maldives‘ project, also funded by the German Federal Foreign Office. This aimed to increase coordination between law-making actors, build the legislative drafting capacities of actors that the Foundation had not previously worked with, including the legal staff at Line Ministries, and provided all law-making actors with technical legal assistance. The project also targeted justice sector actors, such as lawyers through the Bar Council of the Maldives, judges through the Department of Judicial Administration, the police and the Prosecutor General’s Office, with a view of advancing access to justice for vulnerable groups. It did this by enhancing dialogue and cooperation between these actors, enhancing the knowledge, skills and sensitivities of legal professionals and the police, and by promoting the provision of pro bono legal assistance to members of vulnerable groups.

• At the Crossroad Between Progressive Reforms and Democratic Backsliding: Supporting the Stabilisation of the Maldives

• Parliamentary Oversight and Legislative Scrutiny
• Stabilising the Rule of Law by Supporting the Reform Agenda of the Republic of Maldives
• Strengthening the Rule of Law in the Maldives