Bar members urge council to drop Chagos dispute review
They pointed out that at a time when the government's handling of the issue has heated up, the council's top executives have tweeted defending the government.
Some members of the legal bar have written a letter to the Bar Council president urging him to drop the council from reviewing and publishing an opinion regarding the delimitation of the territorial waters between Maldives and Chagos in the south.
The International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on April 28 sided with the Maldives in the dispute with Mauritius surrounding the delimitation of the maritime boundary of the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of the Maldives and the Chagos archipelago, awarding a bigger portion to the Maldives.
ITLOS noted that the size of the relevant area is calculated to be approximately 92,563 sqkm. The delimitation line allocates to Mauritius 45,331 sqkm and to the Maldives 47,232 sqkm.
ITLOS’ decision has been criticised by opposition politicians in the country, saying it will not be accepted.
As the matter heated up, the Bar Council issued a statement early this month saying it would review the ITLOS ruling and disclose the council's opinion on the matter.
On Sunday, three members of the bar who are part of an opposition alliance advocating against the government's stand in the Chagos dispute wrote to the council president, asking the agency to drop the idea of issuing an opinion in this regard. The three signatories of the letter are:
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Former Attorney General Mohammad Munawwar
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Former Attorney General Aishath Azima Shukoor
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Former Attorney General Diyana Saeed
In the letter, they have requested:
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To give up the idea of disclosing the bar council's opinion on the issue
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Not to politicise the involvement of lawyers in such cases that take place in the political mainstream of the country
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To ensure that the legal profession does not change from serving the entire country on a professional basis
They pointed out that at a time when the government's handling of the issue has heated up, the council's top executives have tweeted defending the government on the issue.
The letter also stated that attorney general Ibrahim Riffath is a member of the executive committee and it would be a conflict of interest to issue an opinion at a time when a no-confidence motion has been filed against him in parliament.
"We are of the considered view that the use of the Bar Council in a matter involving the attorney general's own interests is tantamount to involving the Bar Council in political activities and destroying the future of an institution that is yet in its infancy," it said.
The letter also stated that while all the lawyers working in the Maldives are members of the Bar Council, it would be challenging for the executive committee of the council to have the legal authority to frame an opinion in such a way as to indicate the opinion of the entire council in such a major constitutional, legal and technical matter.
