First Amendment to the Legal Profession Act
On 5 August 2020, the First Amendment to the Legal Profession Act was published, which provides that law graduates that complete a one month long training program and meet other conditions stipulated in the Act will be eligible to be sworn in and admitted to the Bar.
Important Changes
- According to the First Amendment to the LPA, law graduates that have not been sworn in at the time of publishing of the Amendment are eligible to participate in a one month training program formulated by the Bar Council of the Maldives (“BCM”). Once the graduates complete the one month training program, they are then eligible to take the oath of a lawyer and qualify as a lawyer, provided that they have;
- reached 21 years of age;
- completed a qualifying law degree accepted by the BCM; and
- not been found guilty of a serious crime within the last 5 years.
- The BCM is required to formulate and publish the modules and assessment criteria of the training program within 7 days from the date of publishing of the First Amendment to the LPA.
- The training program must be carried out by the BCM within 7 days after the BCM publishes the modules and assessment criteria.
- Law graduates that successfully complete the training program must be sworn into the Bar within 21 days of completion.
- It is mandatory for graduates that get admitted to the Bar through the process prescribed under the Amendment to sit the next bar exam that will be conducted.
Effective Date
The Amendment is effective from 5 August 2020.
