Maldives Law Review - President Versus State:: Dhivehi Observer

Law Review

Maldivesnationalamblem.gif (11930 bytes) President versus State

30th June 2005

The president is an elected person under the Constitution. The president in the cabinet is but only one component of the state. One of the others is the people.

The state consists collectively of

1. administrative powers of the state

2. the citizens

3. territory of the Maldives

The first of these, administrative powers, consists of three separate branches.

(a) Executive powers

(b) Legislative powers

Administrative Powers of the state

Exercised by

Executives powers

Legislative powers

Judicial powers

President and cabinet

Parliament

Courts and president

Source: 4(2) of the Constitution

The executive alone does not and cannot represent or constitute the administrative powers. The president and the cabinet together constitute the executive powers of the government. He is the Chief of the Executive and the Heads of state and government.

The government is the body exercising administrative powers of the state as provided in the constitution.

Thus, the governmental body is the sum total of the President in the Cabinet, the Parliament and the Courts and President. None can, independently, stand for the government. Thus, the president alone is not the government inasmuch as he does not represent the executive powers without the cabinet.

Hence, a criticism levelled against the president is not a criticism against the state or even the government and vice versa.

However, under section 30 of the Penal Code, to topple the government, or an attempt to, does not constitute an act against the state insofar as a weapon is not used in the process. By contrast, the president who is less important, constitutionally, at least, than the government is prevented from being ousted by the threat of life imprisonment. This does not conform to legal principles.

A person who plots illegally to oust the president or topple the government by use illegally of a weapon (anything that can cause bodily harm with) is punishable by life imprisonment or banishment and the imposition of labour for a period thereof is at the discretion of the judge. (Penal Code, Section 30)

The person who holds the office of president enjoys special legal protection. Hence, no one shall do any thing damaging to his person. A person in that office is immune while he is in office from indictment against him at any court of law or tribunal for whatever he does or fails to do officially or on his own. (Constitution, Section 44(1))

It is an offence for a citizen of the Maldives or an alien in the country to cause by means of words spoken or written, defiance, malice and cause anger among the people against the legitimate government of the country. It is also an offence to do the same causing hostility or malice or anger between one group and another. (Constitution, 40 (a))

The president, as a constitutional being, is important only to the extent that he is but a constituent part of the government, a body of persons vested with the administrative powers of the state. Importance must therefore be given in the constitution and laws not to the president but the government which embodies the powers of the state. The attention of the members of the special assembly is drawn to amend the provisions relating to the president to giving due importance to the government. The raison d’être for this is that the president belongs to the government, not the government to him.