CoNI Members
The Most Independent National Commission of Inquiry Created Anywhere in the World
Headed by a Commonwealth appointed former Supreme Court Justice of Singapore, and further including two observers nominated by the United Nations and the Commonwealth, as well as a Senior Statesman, an Educator, and a Medical Professional; the Supreme Court of the Maldives formally objected to the composition of this commission as compromising the national sovereignty of the Maldives. Nonetheless, in the pursuit of truth, justice and reconciliation, President Waheed insisted that the Commission should continue as it was re-constituted.
Justice G.P. Selvam
Mr Ismail Shafeeu
CO-CHAIRMAN
Former Justice of the Supreme Court of Singapore.
Retired Judge G.P. Selvam was appointed as Judge of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Singapore in 1994 following a three-year term as Judicial Commissioner, and stayed until reaching the constitutional retirement age of 65 in 2001. He was nominated by the Commonwealth to lead the Commission of National Inquiry.
Judge Selvam has over 100 reported cases to his name as a Supreme Court Judge, covering a wide range of civil, commercial, arbitration and admiralty matters. He was also a member of the Supreme Court Working Party on Civil Procedure and the Rules Committee, which introduced procedural measures for expeditiously clearing the backlog of civil and admiralty cases.
Prior to his appointment, Judge Selvam was in private practice with the law firm of Drew & Napier. He joined the firm in 1969 and stayed on until 1991 when, as Senior Partner, he was elevated to the Supreme Court. He was a practice leader in shipping, admiralty, banking and international trade.
After his retirement in 2001, Judge Selvam was appointed C.J. Koh Professor of Law at the National University of Singapore. He returned to the practice of law and established his name as a leading practitioner in international arbitration where he ruled on several landmark disputes as arbitrator. He joined Selvam LLC as Consultant and held this position when the firm established Duane Morris & Selvam LLP, a joint law venture with U.S. law firm Duane Morris LLP in 2011.
CO-CHAIRMAN
Senior Statesman, Former Cabinet Minister for Previous Government.
Ismail Shafeeu (Born 1956), attended secondary school in Maldives, won a Colombo Plan Scholarship under which he attained an economics degree in Macquarie University, Australia. He was also a Hubert Humphrey scholar and undertook a year-long program of study in Boston University, US. He has supplemented his education with various short courses, including a course in regional development at the UN Centre for Regional Development in Japan.
Shafeeu began his working life in Maldives as a teacher, and went on to work in several government agencies in various capacities, working his way up from junior executive level to finally heading several ministries. In the latter part of his working life, he has held the ministerial portfolios of Planning and Environment, Tourism, Education, Home Affairs and Defence. He also served as Maldives Governor to the Asian Bank, and was chief-coordinator of the disaster relief effort following the 2004 Asian tsunami.
In addition, Shafeeu has been involved in parastatal organizations, working in the Maldives International Airport while it was being developed, and served on the boards of MMA (Central Bank) Dhiraagu (telecommunications), MTCC (transport and construction) and Stelco (power).
Shafeeu was one of the founder members of ‘Veshi’, an environmental NGO that was active in global warming issues in the 80’s, and was for four years the president of the National Scout Council. He was also a member of the Legislative Assembly who framed the present constitution of Maldives.
Since 2008, Shafeeu has been in retirement. He is married with two grown children
Dr. Ibrahim Yasir
MEMBER
Dr. Ibrahim Yasir Ahmed is a medical doctor, specialised in Internal Medicine. He did his basic medical degree from Government Medical College, Trivandrum, India and got specialised in Internal Medicine from Thirubhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal. Apart from practicing medicine, he filled the post of Deputy Medical Director at the main tertiary hospital in Male’, the capital of the Maldives from 2004 to 2008.He was the Director General of Health Services, Ministry of Health, from 2009 November 2011. At present he is a private practitioner at The Clinic, a private clinic in Male’, Maldives.
Dr. Ibrahim Yasir Ahmed was an investigating officer of the Presidential Commission formed to investigate the dealth of Ivan Naseem at the main jail in the Maldives, and the investigation of the shooting incidence at the jail from 16th June2003 to 29th December 2003. He is independent, with no political affiliation.
Dr. Ali Fawaz Shareef
MEMBER
Ali Fawaz Shareef is an academic working in the field of higher education since 1996. He is the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs) at the Maldives National University. He has worked in New Zealand as a lecturer at Massey University, Palmerston North and an eLearning advisor at the Universal College of Learning, Palmerston North. At the Maldives National University he has worked as the head of a faculty, senior lecturer as well as other junior academic posts.
Ali Fawaz is also a member of the governing board of the Maldives Qualifications Authority. He is also the chair of the Higher Degrees Committee and Committee of Courses of the Maldives National University. He is the Vice Chair of the Academic Senate of the Maldives National University. In addition, he has been in a number of program committees of International Conferences and Workshops.
Ali Fawaz obtained his PhD in Information Systems during 2005 at Massey University, New Zealand. He completed his Masters in Information Technology in Education and Training from the University of Wollongong, Australia. He also has a BSc(Hons) in Business Information Technology from Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom.
Mr. Ahmed Saeed
MEMBER
No formal biography was provided by Ahmed Saeed. Mr Saeed’s nomination to the CoNI was put forward by former President Nasheed shortly before the deadline set by the Government, leaving little time for the government to check if
he met the objective criteria set by the Government and the Commonwealth. The criteria includes, among other things, that
the nominees be persons of integrity with high ethical, moral, and professional standards, and that the person should not have taken a public stand on the events that led to the resignation of President Nasheed.
Although it was debated as to whether Mr Saeed met the objective criteria, his nomination was nevertheless accepted in the spirit of compromise and in the interest of
bringing stability into the country.
When accepting Mr Saeed’s nomination to the CoNI, the Government did share its concerns with the Commonwealth, noting that Mr Saeed had indeed made public statements and taken a public stand questioning the transfer of power's validity.
With appointment of former President Nasheed’s nominee on the CoNI, and a Singapore Supreme Court Judge as the Co-Chair, and advisors from the UN and the
Commonwealth, former President Nasheed expressed satisfaction with the composition and independence of the CoNI. Moreover, the MDP’s Steering Committee also passed a
resolution to that effect. However, barely three days into CoNI’s report, Nasheed and his MDP has abandoned these undertakings.
Sir Bruce Robertson
LEGAL ADVISER
Nominated by the Commonwealth
Sir James Bruce Robertson, KNZM QC (born 1944), known as Bruce, is a retired judge of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand, where he was appointed in May 2005. He was nominated by the Commonwealth to the Commission upon the recommendation of Sir Donald McKinnon, former Prime Minister of New Zealand and Commonwealth Special Envoy. As an International Adviser, he was granted the same powers and privileges as other Members of the Commission.
Justice Robertson started his education at Wakari School in Dunedin. He is a graduate of the University of Otago and the University of Virginia. He holds an honorary LLD from the University of Otago.
Before becoming a High Court judge in 1987, Justice Robertson was a partner in the law firm Ross, Dowling, Marquet and Griffin. One of his earliest appointments after his appointment to the High Court was to chair the Search and Search Warrants Committee, which published its final report in 1988. From 2001 until his appointment as a member of the Court of Appeal, he was President of the New Zealand Law Commission. Robertson was also a judge on the Court of Appeal of Vanuatu.
Justice Robertson is also the consulting editor for Adams on Criminal Law and Adams on Criminal Law Student Edition.
In the New Year Honours 2010 Robertson was appointed as a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
In 2013 Sir Bruce was appointed as Chair of the NZ Sports Tribunial.
Sir Bruce was appointed as the NZ Commissioner of Security Warrants in July 2013
Professor John Packer
LEGAL ADVISER
Nominated by the United Nations Department of Political Affairs
Professor John Packer is Associate Professor of Law and Director of the Human Rights Research and Education Centre (HRREC) at the University of Ottawa, and the Inaugural Neuberger-Jesin Professor of International Conflict Resolution.
Prof. Packer previously held academic positions at the University of Essex where he was the Director of the world-renowned Human Rights Centre and at The Fletcher School, Tufts University. He has held Fellowships at Cambridge and Harvard Universities and lectured at universities and professional institutions around the world. He has been widely published and contributes to the editing of a number of scholarly journals. He also serves on the boards of a number of NGOs and is a Member of the Expert Advisory Panel for the Shared Societies Project of the Club de Madrid comprising almost 100 former Heads of State or Government of democracies.
Prof. Packer is also an experienced practitioner bringing some 20 years working for in er-governmental organizations, including in Geneva for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Labour Organisation, and for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights investigating serious human rights violations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Burma/Myanmar, extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detention, forced disappearances, the use of forensic sciences, the use of civil defense forces, and the independence of judges and lawyers throughout the world. From 1995 to 2004, he was Senior Legal Adviser and then the first Director of the Office of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities in The Hague working across Central and Eastern Europe and throughout the former Soviet Union. Prof. Packer is a Constitutions and Process Design Expert on the United Nation’s Standby Team of Mediation Experts attached to the Department of Political Affairs, advising in numerous peace processes and political transitions around the world focusing on conflict prevention and resolution, diversity management, constitutional and legal reform, and the protection of human rights including minorities.
Signed & Endorsed By All Minus One
