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President Solih ratifies Legal Professions Bill

Ahmed Aiham
27 June 2019, MVT 16:21
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has ratified the Legal Professions Bill. PHOTO: PRESIDENT'S OFFICE
Ahmed Aiham
27 June 2019, MVT 16:21

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, on Thursday, ratified the 'Legal Professions Bill'.

Newly ratified, the bill will lead to the establishment of a Bar Association, which is mandated to regulate the legal sector, which includes issuing legal licences, providing additional training to lawyers, take necessary disciplinary action and regulate all matters relating to the work of lawyers.

As per the bill, the lawyers' representative on the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) can be removed from their post if 20 percent of the registered lawyers in Maldives submit a petition to dismiss the representative.

Upon ratification, the current representative Latheefa Qasim was removed from her post.

The legislature was passed by the parliament last week.

The bill was initially submitted by Maafannu North MP Imthiyaz Fahmy during the 18th Parliament.

The Parliamentary Committee on Independent Institutions amended and forwarded the bill to the parliament floor. However, the bill was rejected following a vote.

MP Fahmy resubmitted the bill to the 19th parliament after the bill was annulled at the conclusion of the previous parliamentary term.

As per the bill, a Bar Council will be formed and tasked with designating specialisations, guaranteeing rights and privileges to all Maldivian lawyers and setting standards for legal trainings.

According to the Judiciary Committee's amendments, the Bar Council will be managed by a nine-member executive committee and permanent subcommittees formed by the executive committee.

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