President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has today ratified the first amendment bill to the Legal Profession Act (Act no. 5/2019). The aforementioned bill was passed by the Parliament at the 23rd sitting of its second session, on 22nd July 2020.
The amendment mandates the Bar Council of the Maldives to formulate and conduct a month-long training programme, for law graduates who have completed a degree accepted by the Maldives Qualifications Authority, but remain unable to take their oaths of legal practice. The amendment sets a 7-day deadline from the date of ratification, for the Bar Council to publicize a guideline stipulating the programme's modules and assessment criteria. The training programmes must commence within 7 days of the guidelines being published on the gazette.
Upon ratification the Act has been published in the Government's gazette and takes immediate effect.