Maldives National Party MNP has submitted an emergency motion at the parliament regarding the concerns raised by the lawyers and law students about the difficulties they face before taking the upcoming bar exam.
The Bar exams are scheduled for May/June of this and lawyers as well as law students have been voicing concerns as each applicant must pay a fee of MVR 10,000 just to sit for the exam.
In a statement, MNP said that the concerns raised by lawyers and law students should be resolved especially the difficulties they face when sitting for the bar exam and when they attempt to fulfill other requirements.
MNP went on to say that it is not fair to charge MVR 10,000 just to sit for the exam.
The party pointed out that the hefty fee has become a financial burden to the applicants.
MNP also said that the Bar Council should be given an appropriate budget to ensure that it can fulfill its responsibilities given to the council as per the law. It said that the purpose of having a separate law for lawyers is to regulate their work, give training and issue appropriate licenses and that the Bar Council should be given the resources to do its work.
MNP said that it was working with appropriate government agencies to find a solution for the issues and that it has already submitted the issue to the parliament.
The Bar Exam was first held in the Maldives in 2019. But due to the COVID pandemic, 283 individuals were given temporary licenses to practice law.
