Supreme Court: Registrar’s Decision Stands

Funavaa Case – Supreme Court decision that the Registrar’s decision of 12 May 2026 to reject the petition stands

• When the Supreme Court Registrar rejected the Funavaa Case petition on 12 May 2026, a request to review that decision was submitted to the Supreme Court on 16 May 2026

• Considering a month had passed since the review request submission, a letter of concern about the delay was sent to the Supreme Court on 16 June 2026

• Today, 17 June 2026, we received the Supreme Court’s review decision by a 3-judge bench, which states that as “the review submission did not include any legal or judicial reasons that deem the Registrar’s decision is incorrect”, there was no reason to amend that decision.
The 3 judge bench that reviewed the Registrar’s decision are:
1) Judge Uza. Aisha Shujoon Mohamed
2) Judge Uz. Mohamed Ibrahim
3) Judge Uz. Ali Rasheed Hussain

• The legal and judicial reasons presented in the review submission of the Registrar’s decision are as follows.
1) That the Registrar’s decision fell outside the purview of the Registrar’s responsibilities, as per the Supreme Court Regulations 2020
2) That the application of Supreme Court cases Ali Shah v. The State (People’s Majlis) (2021) and Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed v. The Secretariate of the People’s Majlis (The State) (2021) is incorrect (the legal omissions in the Registrar’s reasoning that the present case is “not a type of case that can be submitted to the Supreme Court”)

• While the Supreme Court has deemed in the Funavaa Case that the Registrar’s decision does not require revision, the reasons for asserting that the Registrar’s decision was made outside the purview of the Registrar’s legal responsibilities remain as such.

• How we plan to proceed next in the Funavaa Case will be updated in Miveshi at the earliest.

Registrar’s Decision Submitted for Review

Supreme Court submission requesting to review the Registrar’s decision to reject the petition.

• Following the Supreme Court Registrar’s 12 May 2026 decision to reject the petition, a request to review the Registrar’s decision was submitted to the Supreme Court on 16 May 2026.

• The review request was based on the following 2 points:

1) that the Registrar’s decision-making fell outside the legal scope of the Registrar’s responsibilities.

2) the Registrar’s decision was made with reference to 2 previous Supreme Court decisions – however, it is evident from these 2 case-law decisions that the Registrar’s reasoning is inconsistent with the legal basis of the arguments in these cases – while such a decision falls outside the Registrar’s responsibilities, it should in fact be a decision made by a judicial bench.

• Considering this case falls under s 11(a)(3) of the Judicature Act, requiring an expedited response due to its constitutional and public interest nature, it is concerning that this case is experiencing procedural delays in the Court.

Supreme Court Registrar rejects submission

Following the revision and re-submission of the case to the Supreme Court on 27 April, the Registrar of the Supreme Court shared her decision on 12 May 2026, rejecting the submission.

In reaching this decision, 2 cases were cited as below:

1) Ali Shah v. State (The People’s Majlis) 2021.
2) Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed v. The People’s Majlis (the State) 2021.

Referring to these 2 cases, the Registrar stated that on assessing the basis of the present case, it was deemed that “this case is not a type of case that should be submitted to the Maldives Supreme Court”.

Given the Registrar’s decision raises questions about its legal strength, an application will be made to the Supreme Court to review the Registrar’s decision.

Resubmission

Funavaa Case resubmitted to the Supreme Court after the revisions required by the Court.

Supreme Court order

The Supreme Court orders certain revisions to the Funavaa petition form.

Request to Submit Constitutional Petition

A request to submit a constitutional petition to the Supreme Court of the Maldives was submitted in connection with the imminent loss of the Kaafu Atoll Villimale Funavaa (old growth Indian Laurel forest patch), hereafter, the Funavaa Case.

A press statement was issued by Miveshi on 21 April 2026 (Dhivehi).

This case was submitted by two residents of the Greater Male’ Region, Humaida Abdul Ghafoor and Ahmed Ikram.
The respondents in this case are:
1) Ministry of Climate Change, Environment and Energy
2) Environmental Regulatory Authority
3) Maale City Council

Information about the background and updates of this issue are available at Save Maldives campaign site.