President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has on Thursday ratified the Transitional Justice Act (Act number: 28/2020).

The Act was passed by the Parliament on 29 November 2020, at the 23rd sitting of the third session of the People’s Majlis.

The key goals of the Transitional Justice Act are to end the culture of impunity and strengthen the rule of law, thereby strengthening democratic governance.

It sanctions investigations into past wrongdoings by state authorities, heads of agencies, or individuals in power, which resulted in human rights violations.

The Act strengthens accountability mechanisms, provides a framework for redress and reparations for victims of the abuse of power, and outlines measures to avoid such abuses of authority in the future. The eligibility timeframe for cases that may be investigated according to this Act runs from 1st January 1953 to 17th November 2018.

Upon ratification, the Act has now been published in the Government Gazette.