Bar Council mandates physical examinations and new standards for law degree programmes

Examinations for law degree courses will now be required to be taken in physical presence, under newly revised minimum standards issued by the Bar Council to strengthen the quality of legal education in Maldives.

The Bar Council said the standards, formulated under powers granted by the Legal Profession Act, are mandatory for all institutions offering law degree programmes in the country. The revisions include requirements on the physical conduct of examinations, as well as standards for English-medium instruction in law courses.

Under the new framework, the core subjects that must be included in a bachelor’s degree or LLB programme have been clearly defined. These include the legal system, constitutional law, administrative law, criminal law, transaction law, and legal ethics and technical standards. Institutions are also required to give special emphasis to developing students’ legal research and advocacy skills.

The standards further outline the minimum admission criteria for law programmes and the qualifications required of lecturers. According to the Bar Council, lecturers teaching in law degree courses must hold at least a master’s degree and possess the necessary technical competence.

Teaching centres offering law degrees must also be fully equipped with legal textbooks and digital library resources to support student learning.

The new rules, issued under the Legal Profession Act, will come into force next month. The Bar Council, which has the authority to approve law courses and set the minimum higher-education standards required for admission to legal practice, said the changes mark an important step towards improving the quality of legal education and strengthening the professional competence of lawyers in Maldives.