Maldives sets up a presidential commission of inquiry into its conduct in ITLOS Case Number 28 brought by Mauritius

1 November 2026

President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has set up a special presidential commission of inquiry to examine how the Maldives conducted itself in a sea boundary case filed against it by Mauritius. A Presidential Decree, No. 2026/17, created the body, using the power the President holds under Article 115(o) of the Maldivian Constitution. Mauritius had taken the dispute to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, where it was heard as Case Number 28 and settled the sea boundary and continental shelf lying between the Maldives and Chagos. Expert studies ordered later concluded that the country gave up a wide stretch of ocean area, together with the fisheries, seabed wealth and other resources inside it. Seven people have been named to the commission, and Uz Ahmed Shakir has been made its President. Among the other members are Dr Aminath Shafiya Adam, Dr Abdul Muhsin Mohamed and a retired Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mohamed Sadiq. Muizzu had first signalled this inquiry in his Presidential Address delivered on 5 February this year.