President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih Endorses Amendments Passed By The Parliament

Two bills passed on the 39^th Parliament on November 16^th was endorsed by the President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. The amendments were of the Penal Code and the Environment Protection & Preservation Act.

On the fifth amendment to the Penal Code, the amendment bill includes the addition of article 124 subsequent to article 123 to the Act number 2014/9. In this article it includes the acts that are considered criminal. The article makes it illegal to label persons as non-believers or anti-Islamic based on their opinions on religious issues where religious scholars disagree or disagree.

It also prevents a muslim from being labeled anti-Islamic unless the person openly declares that he or she is a nonbeliever, comes out as a nonbeliever, or intentionally commits an act of kufr. The amendment also makes it illegal to commit any acts of violence or instigate violence against such a person.

Furthermore, the amendment makes it illegal to commit acts of violence or promote acts of violence against people based on their ethnicity, birth nation, political ideology, or religion. The bill also states that it has no reservations about delivering the Holy Quran's and Sunnah's verdicts. The amendment also establishes the severity of such violations.

Following article 617(a)4, the amendment adds two more clauses, including article 617(a)5, which prohibits the use of any language or acts of tauheen in public against the religion of Islam, Almighty Allah, the Holy Quran, the Prophet and Sunnah, whether through a communication device or any other means.

On the Third Amendment to the Environment Protection and Preservation Act 1993/4, the proposed alteration to Article 10 of the Act is the addition of a provision numbered (10-1) with the subheading 'Services Provided by Councils.' According to the modification, the provision of specific services among those supplied by the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, and Technology shall be outsourced to the atoll, island, or city's administrative divisions.

The procedures to be followed in providing the services delegated to the councils by the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, and Technology shall be established in the Act's rules, according to clause (1). The amendment states that the ministry and relevant organizations must offer cash, resources, and support to the councils in order for them to provide the services, and it defines how the assistance would be supplied in clause (2).

The amendment also includes the addition of three clauses subsequent to article 11 (c) of the Act. The regulations pertaining to the amendment must be drafted or amended and published in the government gazette within 6 months of the amendment coming into force.
 
Following the ratification of both amendments, the Bills have been published in the Government Gazette. The amendments have come into effect from November 28th onward.