Supreme Court Registry Declines to Accept Case Seeking to Nullify Eagle Hills Agreement

The Supreme Court Registry has decided not to accept a constitutional case filed seeking to declare unconstitutional and nullify the agreement under which the Maldives government granted more than 500 hectares of land in Rasmalé to UAE-based Eagle Hills for 99 years. The case was filed by lawyer and former Kendhoo constituency MP Ali Hussain. The Supreme Court Registry decided not to accept the case on the grounds that it is not the type of case that can be filed directly in the Supreme Court at the first instance. Under the Courts Act, cases that may be filed directly in the Supreme Court at the first instance include those in which the country could descend into a constitutional vacuum or fall outside the system; matters relating to constitutional interpretation; disputes arising between two state institutions or two powers; and constitutional matters connected to the public interest. The Registry's decision may be submitted to the bench of judges for review. In filing the case, Ali Hussain said he raised questions over the constitutional validity of the "Commercial Terms Agreement" signed with Eagle Hills in the name of the Maldives government by the Ministry of Infrastructure, and said the case filed in the Supreme Court is a constitutional matter involving public interest. Although the government has not made public the full details of the agreement, statements issued by both sides indicate that more than 500 hectares of land reclaimed in Rasmalé has been decided to be given to Eagle Hills for 99 years without any acquisition cost or rent. Ali Hussain's statement also said the company has been given the power to create "rolling lease interest" (the right to sublease on a continuing basis) to third parties in relation to the facilities developed on that land. The case states that Article 250 of the Constitution provides that state property or money may only be given, sold, leased or disposed of to any person in the manner prescribed by law, but that there is no legal framework giving the government the power to lease state land to a foreign party for 99 years. It further states that although Article 251 of the Constitution sets the maximum period for leasing Maldivian land to foreign parties at 99 years, under this agreement rights are granted to third parties in succession, opening the way for foreign parties to acquire rights over Maldivian land on a permanent basis with no specific end date. Therefore, the case states that as the agreement is in direct violation of Articles 250 and 251 of the Constitution, it is requested that the Supreme Court declare the agreement void from its inception. In the case, Ali Hussain also requested a temporary order to delay implementation of the agreement until the Supreme Court decides otherwise. The temporary order was sought with the aim of preventing third-party rights from being created, avoiding obstacles to the enforcement of the court's judgment, and protecting the state from severe irreparable losses it may have to bear. Meanwhile, as opposition to the Rasmalé project continues, the government estimates that under the agreement with Eagle Hills, the state will receive an advance of 5,000 housing units (approximately USD 500 million or MVR 7.7 billion) before practical work on the project begins. The government has said that all funds received from the sale of properties in the project will be deposited into an escrow account controlled by the government and located in the Maldives, that this will provide a major solution to the dollar shortage facing the Maldives and greatly ease the central bank's efforts to strengthen official reserves, and that the agreement provides no duty concession or tax relief under the SEG law or the Tourism law, meaning the state will receive full TGST and other taxes due to it. Eagle Hills Chairman Mohamed Alabbar has said that Maldivians trust the company, which he described as making the largest investment ever brought to the Maldives.