Establishment of Anti-Corruption Commission
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is established on 16th October 2008, under section 199 (a) of the Constitution of the Republic of Maldives which was ratified on 07th August 2008. The ACC was established when the “Anti-Corruption Commission Bill” was passed in the 56th meeting of the second session of People’s Majlis 2008, which was held on 23rd September 2008 and ratified on Wednesday the 24th of September 2008 (24th Ramazan 1429 H.) by the President of the Maldives as per section 92 of the Constitution of the Republic of Maldives.
Anti-Corruption Commission is administrated under the Anti-Corruption Commission Act (13/2008) which was ratified on 24th September 2008.
Legal Status
Anti-Corruption Commission is an independent legal entity with a separate seal, possessing power to sue and be sued and to make undertakings in its own capacity.
Appointment of Commission members:
The composition of Anti-Corruption Commission is five members, appointed by the President of the Maldives as per Section 4 of Anti-Corruption Commission Act (13/2008). The tenure of each member is one term not exceeding 5 (Five) years effective from the date of appointment. Members may be re-appointed for further 5 (Five) year term except for those who are dismissed as per Section 14 of Anti-Corruption Commission Act (13/2008).
Salaries, Allowances and the Administration Function:
The salaries and allowances for the members of the Anti-Corruption Commission are determined by the People’s Majlis whereas salaries and allowances for the staff of the Commission are decided based on discussions with Ministry of Finance and Treasury. The Secretary General is responsible for the administration of the Commission in accordance with the regulations passed by the Commission.
In order to achieve the vision of the Commission to free the society from corruption, its main functions are grounded to take action against all perpetrators of corruption, create an impartial environment to recover and protect loss of rights suffered due to corruption, and ensure state and government public officials and state owned companies abide by the rules and regulations to work with integrity.
Mandatory Functions:
Article 21 of ACC Act 13/2008 mandates the following obligations for the Commission;
a) To inquire into, investigate all allegations of corruption; any complaints, information, or suspicion of corruption must be investigated;
b) To recommend further inquiries and investigations by other investigatory bodies, and to recommend prosecution of alleged offences to the Prosecutor General, where warranted;
c) To carry out research on the prevention of corruption and to submit recommendations for improvement to relevant authorities regarding actions to be taken;
d) To promote the values of honesty and integrity in the operations of the State, and to promote public awareness of the dangers of corruption;
e) To conduct seminars, workshops and other programs on prevention and prohibition of corruption to further public awareness, carry out research and to publish them;
f) To carry out everything necessary to undertake responsibilities of the Commission;
g) To implement Act No.2/2000 (Law on Prevention and Prohibition of Corruption) and to formulate regulations under that Act.