Rights
2008 Constitution requires all citizens to be Sunni Muslim
The 2008 Constitution establishes a presidential system with separated powers and a bill of rights, while Article 9(d) provides that a non-Muslim may not become a citizen and Islam is the basis of all law.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Unitary republic across the atolls; local councils under the Decentralisation Act.
Governing law
- Constitution of the Republic of Maldives2008
- Judicature ActLaw 22/2010
- Judicial Service Commission Act
In practice
Chapter 2 rights are enforceable and the Supreme Court exercises constitutional review, but Article 10 requires that no law contrary to a tenet of Islam be enacted, so rights operate within that limit. The 2008 text ended a long period of one-man rule and created independent commissions, though political interference in judicial appointments has been a recurring criticism from the ICJ and UN special procedures.