President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has ratified the first amendment bill to the Legal Profession Act. The amendment bill was passed by the Parliament of the Maldives on July 22, 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 publicise 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 Gazette and takes immediate effect.