Domestic implementation of international law
Republic of Maldives
Domestic Legislation | Resources and Links
Crimes Crime of Aggression
No provision.
Crimes Against Humanity
No provision.
Genocide
No provision.
War Crimes
No provision.
Article 93 of the Constitution of the Republic of Maldives provides as follows:
Article 93 [Treaties]
"(a) Treaties entered into by the Executive in the name of the State with foreign states and international organizations shall be approved by the People's Majlis, and shall come into force only in accordance with the decision of the People’s Majlis.
(b) Despite the provisions of article (a), citizens shall only be required to act in compliance with treaties ratified by the State as provided for in a law enacted by the People's Majlis."Maldivian Red Crescent Act , 2009. (Law No. 7/2009)
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is provided for under Section 13 of the Penal Code of the Republic of Maldives:"Section 13 – Jurisdiction
|1| Please, refer to the Final Report of The Maldivian Penal Law & Sentencing Codification Project Vol. 1 (p. 26) for the text of this footnote. The above quotation is a literal reproduction of the English version of the Maldivian Penal Code of 2014 as provided by the Criminal Law Research Group of the University of Pennsylvania.
(a) Statement of Jurisdiction. The State has jurisdiction to prosecute: [...](4) [any offense committed in gross violation of international law, regardless of the site of such offenses or the domiciles of the parties involved,]|1| and any offense over which the State is required to assume jurisdiction due to the State’s adoption of an international treaty, though, unless stipulated otherwise, such a treaty shall not limit the jurisdiction of the State over such offenses; [...]
(b) Jurisdiction Not an Element of an Offense. Establishing jurisdiction is a prerequisite to prosecution and not an element of an offense. The prosecution need not prove the culpability of the defendant as to any of the criteria for jurisdiction. [...]
d) Claims for Extradition. Unless explicitly stipulated in an international treaty, a defendant has no standing to challenge a failure of the State to extradite him to another country.
International Criminal Court
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: The Republic of Maldives deposited its instrument of accession to the Rome Statute on 21 September 2011.
The Constitution of the Republic of Maldives. 2008
(The President's Office, Republic of Maldives). [ENG]. [Last accessed 15Nov17]. [External Link to pdf document]
Penal Code of the Republic of Maldives. (Entered into force on 16 July 2015).
(Penn Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School). [ENG]. [Last accessed 15Nov17]. [External Link to pdf document]
Final Report of The Maldivian Penal Law & Sentencing Codification Project. Text of Draft Code (Volume 1) and Official Commentary (Volume 2)
(Penn Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School). [ENG]. [Last accessed 15Nov17]. [External Link to pdf document]
"The United Nations Development Programme and the Government of the Maldives commissioned the drafting of a penal code based upon existing Maldivian law, which meant primarily a codification of Shari'a. This is the Final Report of that codification project. A description of the process that produced this Report and the drafting principles behind it, as well as a discussion of the special challenges of codifying Islamic criminal law, are contained in an article at http://ssrn.com/abstract=941443. [Source: Robinson, Paul H. and Criminal Law Research Group -- University of Pennsylvania]
Maldives Criminal Justice Project.
(Criminal Law Research Group of the University of Pennsylvania). [ENG]. [Last accessed 15Nov17]. [External Link]
State Official Gazette: Divehi Sarukaruge Gezet.
[DIV]. [Last accessed 15Nov17]. [External Link]
List of International Humanitarian Law Treaties to which Maldives is a State party.
(International Committee of the Red Cross). [ENG]. [Last accessed 15Nov17]. [External Link]