President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Monday ratified the Evidence Act (Act No. 11/2022). Parliament passed the bill at the 22nd sitting of its second session on June 30, 2022.
The act specifies the procedures to be followed when gathering evidence in civil and criminal proceedings, as well as the processes to be followed when submitting, accepting, and evaluating evidence. It also specifies other evidence-related elements, such as the extent of evidence required to support a claim.
One of the primary purposes of the act is to ensure the necessary evidential procedures are detailed in the form of required actions so that the right to a fair trial, as per Article 42 of the Constitution, is satisfied.
Upon ratification, the bill was published in the Government Gazette and it will come into effect six months after the act being gazetted. Evidence Act (Act No. 11/2022) coming into force will repeal the existing Evidence Act (Act No. 24/76) and the Women’s Testimony Act (Act No. 14/72).