Government has submitted a bill to the parliament to amend the prisons and parole act of the Maldives. The bill was accepted by the parliament today with the votes of 46 members who took part in the vote. The amendment proposes to change the eligibility requirements for the leadership of Maldives Correctional Service.
According to the current legislation, the commissioner of prisons or the deputy commissioner of prisons can only be chosen from a commissioned officer. The amendment proposes to remove this criterion. Hence, now any officer can be appointed as the commissioner or deputy commissioner now.
Also, the director of prisons in remand jails can also be appointed in this manner.
