The International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Invention 6(02): 5282-5290, 2019 DOI: 10.18535/ijsshi/v6i2.04 ICV 2015: 45.28 ISSN: 2349-2031 © 2019, THEIJSSHI 5282 The International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Invention, vol. 6, Issue 02, February, 2019 Research Article A Comparative Analysis on the Parliament’s Role in the Appointment of Justices to the Supreme Court in the USA and the Maldives Aminath Asfa Shafie 1 , Shamrahayu A. Aziz 2 1 Ph.D. Candidate, Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws, International Islamic University Malaysia 2 Ph.D., Associate Professor, Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws, International Islamic University Malaysia Abstract: The politics involved in the appointment of Judges to the Supreme Court impacts everyone; the policy-making Executive, the lawmaking Legislature and the people who elected the aforementioned two branches of Government. In Maldives, the parliament plays a huge role in the appointment of Justices to the Supreme Court of Maldives. However, the parliamentary procedure in place regarding providing approval to selected candidates to the highest authority in the judiciary of Maldives seems to lack a vital part of any job interview; the assessing of the candidate’s eligibility to take o n the responsibilities of the office. Whereas in the United States of America, confirmation hearings are held to not only assess the candidate’s eligibility but also to determine the character of the candidate. The main purpose of this article is to entail the role of the parliament in both jurisdictions in the appointment of Justices to the Supreme Court. Therefore, taking a doctrinal approach, this article analyses the constitutional and parliamentary procedures of the United States of America and Maldives regarding the appointment of Justices to the Supreme Court. This article reveals the imperative necessity to reform the constitutional and parliamentary procedures of appointing Justices, to ensure an independent, impartial and effective judiciary in the Maldives. Keywords: Parliament, Parliamentary Procedures, Judicial Appointments, Supreme Court, Maldives, United States of America 1. Introduction The Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in the Maldives as well as the United States of America. The appointment of the justices to the Supreme Court is significant. In the Maldives, as well as the United States, the respective Constitutions of both jurisdictions require the President, i.e. the Executive to nominate a candidate for the position. The differences found in these jurisdictions remain to be minuscule on paper; the President of the United States nominates a candidate and with the advice and approval of the Senate, appoints a Justice to the Supreme Court of the United States, whereas in the Maldives, the President nominates a candidate with the consultation of the Judicial Service Commission and appoints a Justice to the Supreme Court of Maldives after the candidate receives approval from the parliament- the People’s Majlis. However, the recent appointment of Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, amidst sexual harassment accusations, brought in to perspective the main difference in the appointment of a Justice to the Supreme Court in the Maldives; the confirmation hearing. It should be noted that neither the Constitution of the Republic of Maldives nor the Regulation of the People’s Majlis hinders the parliament from conducting confirmation hearings to assess the eligibility of the nominated candidate and to assess their character. But the committee reports of the parliament shows that the parliament had been granting its approval to nominated candidates based on the documents forwarded to the parliament by the President‟s Office after having nominated a candidate. Compared to the democratic constitutional history of the United States of America, Maldives is merely an infant learning to crawl; the Maldives enacted it‟s very first democratic Constitution in 2008. Therefore, since 2008, every time the parliament of Maldives had the opportunity to grant consent to nominees to the Supreme Court, the parliament has claimed to be pressed for time and has chosen not to question nominees to the Supreme Court before granting them consent. Necessarily, the Constitution of the Republic of Maldives does not specifically state that the parliament has to conduct confirmation hearings; determining the procedure through which to provide approval to nominated candidates is left to the discretion of the parliament. Justices to the Supreme Court of Maldives are nominated and appointed because they meet the constitutionally required qualifications. However, when it comes to the highest authority in the judiciary of Maldives, it is only sensible that the representatives of the people should be more vigilant in the process of the appointment of the Justices to the Supreme Court. Confirmation hearings, despite the nominees meeting the required qualifications, provide insight into their eligibility to take on the responsibilities of the office, as well as their views on vital and controversial issues. Furthermore, confirmation hearings provide the people of the country the opportunity to understand and express their concerns regarding a person whose decisions would impact not only the country as a whole but also the ordinary lives of the people.