Report: Soodh
I have been asked a few times if I believe that a minister could be held responsible for his acts or omissions even if he resigns from his Cabinet portfolio. I have been asked if parliament could question an ex-minister regarding his acts or omissions while in office even after he has resigned from his cabinet portfolio. This becomes especially relevant if a person resigned to circumvent or pre-empt an unpleasant showdown with parliament.
I refer to two articles of the Constitution.
First, article 59 of the Maldives Constitution says that every cabinet minister shall perform functions assigned to his portfolio with utmost diligence and to the best of his ability. Every minister shall bear responsibility for his functions and shall be answerable to the President. Where his negligence causes any detriment to the State the minister shall bear responsibility for its consequences.
Second, article 81 of the Maldives Constitution says that every minister can be questioned in parliament about what he may have done or conducted in his official capacity. Every minister can be questioned in parliament about what he may have done or conducted in his private capacity if (what is complained of) is alleged to be unlawful, or is likely to be detrimental to the government or the people.
I will also refer to the oath of a cabinet minister. A minister takes oath in the name of Allah, the Almighty, to honor the religion of Islam; to safeguard the Constitution of the Republic and fundamental rights of the Maldivian people; to be faithful to the Maldivian Nation and the President, and to discharge trustfully and honestly, in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic and Law, functions assigned to him by the President.
Few matters need to be emphasized here:
Firstly, article 59 says that every minister shall “bear responsibility” for his functions. It also says that every minister shall “bear responsibility” for consequences arising from his negligence.
Secondly, article 81 says that every minister “can be questioned in parliament” be it his “official” or “private” acts. Private acts, of course, can be questioned if one of the three criteria mentioned in the article is met.
Thirdly, a minister takes oath in the name of Allah to “trustfully and honestly” discharge his functions in accordance with “law”.
Even though the provisions quoted above from the Constitution talk about ministers, the Constitution neither puts a timeline on ministerial responsibility nor does it demarcate a boundary around responsibility to mean “responsibility while in office only”. Instead the provisions of the Constitution talk evidently about taking responsibility for acts committed as ministers. Therefore, taking responsibility for ministerial acts shall be the spirit in which those provisions must be read, understood or appreciated. Otherwise people will never able to hold a minister responsible for his acts because a minister could easily escape liability by tendering his resignation.
It is every intention of the constitutional provisions on responsibility that a person shall continue to be responsible for his acts before the people and the parliament for acts committed while holding office of a minister. That cannot be ignored by imposing a timeline on responsibility. Said another way, once a person holds office of a minister, his responsibility for his acts can neither be wiped out by intervention of time nor limited by passage of time. If the people have an interest in holding a person to account for what he may have done in his official or private capacity while serving as a minister, then, that path must always be open for the people to walk at a time and manner of their own choosing. Excuse of resignation or passage of time cannot act as a bar to prevent the people from walking that path.
All these read together, I am very much of the view that a person is forever bound by the oath he takes when he shoulders responsibility of the office of a minister. And he shall forever be prepared to be held accountable to his deeds.
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