Following an amendment to the Maldives Bar Council's "Minimum Standards for Qualifying Law Degree Programs" that mandates all law degree program examinations to be conducted in person starting next January, the People's Majlis Petition Committee has decided to seek the Bar Council's advice on an e-petition submitted to the Majlis by law students.

With the regulation amended, students pursuing law degrees online and all parties directly or indirectly affected by the change opened a petition to bring the issue to the attention of the People's Majlis. The petition has successfully gathered enough signatures to meet threshold two under parliamentary regulations.

The petition has garnered 2,129 signatures.

The petition states that applying this regulatory change to students currently enrolled undermines the rights and interests of numerous students who undertook their education based on the rules in place when their courses began.

Considering administrative justice and legal certainty, students enrolled in these courses under a system that possessed valid authorization for online examinations, the petition notes.

Consequently, changing such a fundamental requirement mid-course is viewed by many students as stripping away their "legitimate expectation" under administrative law and undermining the trust and certainty that administrative decisions should maintain.

According to the petition, a general legal principle is that new regulations apply prospectively. However, implementing this rule retroactively on current students without an adequate and comprehensive transitional phase is considered inconsistent with the Bar Council's past policies and contrary to the principles of the rule of law.

The petition highlights that this amendment imposes severe financial and psychological burdens regarding travel and accommodation in Malé, particularly for students residing in atolls, employed individuals, and those carrying family responsibilities. Consequently, the right to education guaranteed under Article 36 of the Constitution is restricted, heightening fears that many students' studies may be interrupted.

As a remedy, the petition requests that all students who registered and commenced their studies in law degree programs prior to the enforcement of this new rule be exempted from the amendment. It further requests the Majlis to collaborate with relevant institutions to establish transitional arrangements allowing those students to follow the rules that applied when they began until they complete their programs.

Since the petition met the threshold two requirements outlined in Majlis regulations, the Petition Committee discussed the matter.

Following discussions among committee members, Madaveli Constituency Member Mohamed Shameez proposed sending the petition to the Bar Council to seek its advice. The motion was seconded by Hithadhoo Central Constituency Member Ahmed Azan Marzooq.

The proposal was passed by the unanimous vote of the members present and participating in the committee meeting.