UN calls on Somalia to reinstate Supreme Court president
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Caasimada Online
UN experts are calling on Somalia to reinstate Supreme Court president Baashe Yuusuf Axmed, dismissed on 4 November by President Xasan Sheekh Maxamuud. They denounce open interference in judicial independence and recall that the dismissal, made without advice from the Judicial Service Commission, was deemed unlawful by the court, according to a statement issued in Geneva.
Independent United Nations experts have called on the Somali government to reinstate Baashe Yuusuf Axmed as president of Somalia’s Supreme Court, after his dismissal by President Xasan Sheekh Maxamuud on 4 November. Margaret Satterthwaite, UN expert on the independence of judges and lawyers, and Ben Saul, UN expert on human rights and counter-terrorism, accused the government of intimidating judges in a statement issued in Geneva.
The two experts said the president had taken the decision without a proposal from the Judicial Service Commission and without parliamentary approval. They recalled that a judge may only be suspended or dismissed if they are unable to perform their duties or commit an act making them unfit to do so, following a fair procedure and independent review, according to their statement.
The Supreme Court had ruled Baashe Yuusuf Axmed’s dismissal unlawful and without effect, with the presidential decision coming on the eve of a court review of the terms of office of the president and Parliament. Two days later, on 7 November, Xasan Sheekh Maxamuud attended the swearing-in of Ibraahim Idle Suleymaan, former president of the Supreme Court, who resumed the position, according to Caasimada Online.
The Somali presidency had justified the dismissal by citing complaints from judges, court employees and lawyers concerning the administration of justice. The Supreme Court, for its part, found that the president had exceeded his constitutional powers and sought to disrupt the proceedings on extending the terms of office of public institutions.
