23 bills for first parliament term; includes JSC reform amendment

The Attorney General's (AG) Office said on Sunday it plans to introduce 23 bills, including a constitution amendment bill to change the composition of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), for the first term of the current year.

Changing the way the JSC is constituted is a presidential promise of this government. It was also part of the 'Agenda 19' sold by the party during the 2019 parliamentary election campaign. The AG's office formally started the exercise in September, claiming that it was to fulfil the promise. 

The office took to Twitter on Sunday to announce the bills the government plans to send to parliament for this term. The tweet read that a list of these bills has been sent to parliament this Sunday.

One of the major changes in these bills is the two amendments to the Constitution and the JSC Act, which are at the top of the list. It is believed that the constitutional amendment bill is related to the formation of the JSC.

While changing the composition of the JSC is a poll promise of the current government, there have been concerns about the delay in doing so. In December, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih had said that the amendment would be sent once parliament reopens this year.

The bill to be sent to Parliament also includes two bills to amend the Presidential Election Act and the General Election Act. As the Election Commission prepares to hold presidential elections in September, it is unclear what the amendments to the two laws will be.

In addition to these two laws, an amendment to the Local Bodies Election Act has also been included.

Of the total 23 bills, six are new ones. These include:

Next in the list are bills that amend existing laws. These include: