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FORLIC
PECORD
OFFICE
Reference -
C.O.882/12
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH¬NOT TO
RF
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE REPRODUCED PHOLOGRAPHIC-
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Article 44. The Sultan shall not interfere in any way with the Shariat laws, but they shall be promulgated in his name and through his order.
Article 45. It is the prerogative of the Sultan to pardon anyone who has infringed the Shariat law, for which there are no specific punishment mentioned, in consultation with the Council of Ministers.
Article 46. Every first session of the Legislative Council shall be opened by the Sultan and his speech will be read by the Prime Minister. The speech shall deal with the conditions of the islands and their requirements.
Article 47. The Sultan only has the right of conferring honours and titles to those deserving of such recognitions, on the advice of Ministers.
Article 48. The Sultan has the sole right of appointing and dismissing of Publi
servants
Article 49. The Sultan has the right of enacting any emergency measures for the suppression of sudden and dangerous risings.
Article 50. The Sultan is the Commander-in-Chief of all kinds of fighting units Appointments and dismissals of Military Officers rests with him. Declarations of warfare and peace and conclusion of the treaties is vested in the Sultan with the advice of the Ministers.
Article 51. All the State affairs shall be conducted by the Sultan through the medium of his Ministers.
Article 52. The right of appointing and dismissing of Ministers and the Ambas- sadors are vested with the Sultan, but the appointment and dismissal of Ministers shall be carried out only by the advice of the Prime Minster, and the appointment and dis- missal of Ambassadors on the advice of the Foreign Minister.
Article 53. Before carrying out measures according to constitutional law, it is incumbent on the Sultan to take the following oath in the presence of the members of the Legislative Council:-
"That I swear by the Almighty God to respect the Constitution, to respect all the Maldivian laws and to uphold the independence of the Maldives and to safe- guard the Maldivian Governinent.”
Article 54. Owing to some reasons, the Sultan is desirous of freeing himself of the burden of directing the affairs of the State for some time, and wishing to appoint some person or persons to act for him, or if on some reason it is found difficult to find a suitable person or persons to act for him, and if the Council of Ministers-is compelled to take charge of the High Office of the Sultan, the members of it before taking charge of the High Öffice, shall take their oaths adding the following words to the oath already prescribed for them :-
"That I swear to be faithful to the Throne."
Article 55. Every Sultan on being elevated to the Throne shall have his allowance and that of the other members of the Royal family fixed.
Article 56.
Conditions necessary for the Deposition of a Ruler.
(1) Complete absence of any of the qualities of a Ruler.
(2) Any act done against the Shariat law which disentitled him to be a ruler. (3) Showing opposition to any of the rules of the Constitutional laws and acting
against any of them.
Procedure for the Dethronement of a Ruler.
Article 57. If any cause or causes arise for the dethronement of a reigning Sultan, the Council of Ministers shall summon a special meeting, as provided for in Article 25 for election of a Ruler. If after deliberation the meeting decides by a two- thirds majority for the dethronement, then the Council of Ministers shall summon the army, the people of the four Wards of Malé and the islanders then residing in Malé and its harbour, and shall communicate to them the decision of the special meeting. Thereafter, when the decision is submitted to the Sultan in writing by the special meeting, the Sultan shall vacate the Throne.
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The Three Administrative State Councils.
(1) The Legislative Council. Article 58. The Legislative Council shall consist of 21 elected members. They are seventeen members elected by the tax paying atols and four members elected by the people of the four Wards of Malé. These members
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shall possess qualifications of Ministers and shall be acquainted with the working of the Government Departments.
Article 59. The age of the Legislative Council shall be five years. Fresh election shall take place in every five years.
Article 60. The President of the Legislative Council shall be the Prime Minister, and the Deputy President shall be elected by the Council.
(2) The Peoples Assembly. Article 61. The Peoples Assembly shall consist of forty-three elected members and twenty-one members of the Legislative Council, totalling in all sixty-four members. These forty-three members shall be elected as follows:-
Large atols should elect four members for each, two members for each of the smaller atols and one member for Mulaku Island.
Article 62. The members of the Legislative Council shall be elected by the members of the Peoples Assembly. They shall be elected from Malé.
Article 63. Members of the Peoples Assembly shall be elected once a year. Article 64. Members of the Legislative Council and the Peoples Assembly shall
be elected in accordance with the rules already mentioned. The meetings of these Councils shall be held only at Malé.
Article 65.
Councils:
Qualifications of Voters.
Qualifications necessary for voters for the election of members of the
(1) He must be a Muslim.
(2) Must be a male.
(3) He must not be less than twenty-five years.
(4) He must be able to read and write Arabic and Maldivian characters.
(5) He must be a resident of the place for twelve months prior to the date on
which the registration of voters list begin to be written
(6) He must not be a person serving a sentence against the State or religion. (7) He must not have been proved to be insane.
Article 66. The Council of Ministers shall be responsible for upholding the dignity and rights of the State and carrying out of all the affairs of the Kingdom.
Article 67. The Sultan shall appoint the Prime Minister in consultation with the Legislative Council, the election being made from among its members. Thereafter other Ministers shall be selected with the permission of the Sultan by the Prime Minister from the members of the Legislative Council. These Ministers shall be ex officio members of the Legislative Council.
Qualifications of Ministers.
(1) He must be a Muslim.
(2) He must be of Sunni sect.
(3) He must be twenty-five years old.
(4) He must be a free man.
(5) He must be a Maldivian.
(6) He must be of sound mind.
(7) He must not be a person accused of an offence against Shariat law and had
not been found guilty.
(8) He must not be a person who has lost the confidence and respect of the
public.
(9) He must have the ability and knowledge of the works of different depart-
ments of which he takes charge.
(10) He must have the strength and health to carry out the work of different
departments given to his charge in a satisfactory manner.
(11) He must be a person of integrity.
(12) He must be the fittest person in the Council to be appointed Minister.
(13) He must be able to read and write Maldivian and Arabic characters with
their vowels.
(14) He must have a good knowledge of arithmetic.
(15) He must be able to write grammatically sound Maldivian.
(16) He must not be a person found guilty of any offence against the State and
has not been pardoned of that offence.
(17) Preference will be given to those possessing more knowledge than others.
(18) If two persons have the same qualifications mentioned above, preference shall be given to the more learned and experienced or to the older or to the higher class of the two.
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