On 21 August 2025, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu ratified Act No. 13/2025 – the Maldives Intellectual Property Office Act, marking a significant milestone in the development of the country’s legal and commercial framework. The Act was passed by the People’s Majlis during its 23rd sitting of the second session of the 20th Majlis, held on […]
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Maldivian employers—especially those operating large-scale businesses—should take note: the five-year grace period provided under Law No. 22/2020 (Sixth Amendment to the Employment Act) will expire on 22 September 2025. This means that several critical workforce localisation provisions, including quotas for senior management and mandatory reporting, will become fully enforceable from that date. As legal advisors […]
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The recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments is an important element of cross-border legal cooperation. In the Maldives, this process is governed by the Civil Procedure Act, specifically Chapter 33 (Articles 390 to 397), which lays out the legal framework for the enforcement of judgments issued by courts in foreign jurisdictions. Recognition and Enforcement: […]
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Effective from 19 March 2025, the Fifteenth Amendment to the Tourism Act (Law No. 2/2025) brought significant reforms to the legal framework guiding tourism development in the Maldives. The amendment introduces key updates across several critical areas, including the allocation of land and lagoons, lease extension policies, redevelopment approvals, advertising regulations, and the establishment of […]
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President has ratified the long-awaited Industrial Relations Act, a landmark piece of legislation that formalises trade union rights and structures collective labour relations in the Maldives for the first time. The bill was passed during the 37th sitting of Parliament’s third session on December 18, 2023, and has now been published in the Government Gazette. […]
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In an important step toward strengthening labour protections in the Maldives, President ratified the Occupational Safety and Health Act (Act No. 09/2023) on January 2, 2024. The legislation, which sets nationwide standards for workplace safety and employee well-being, was passed by the People’s Majlis on December 18, 2023, during its 37th sitting of the third […]
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Access to justice is a fundamental pillar of any democratic society, ensuring fairness, equality, and the rule of law. Unfortunately, the Maldives faces significant challenges in its justice system, hindering its ability to deliver justice effectively. In this article, we will shed light on the main issues faced by the justice system in the Maldives […]
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On April 28, 2022, the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) issued a verdict in the maritime boundary dispute between Mauritius and the Maldives. The dispute involved the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of the Maldives and the Chagos archipelago, and the delimitation of territorial waters between Mauritius and the Maldives. The tribunal […]
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The Maldives introduced a new Civil Procedure Code on June 16th, 2022, with the aim of bringing more efficiency to the country’s legal system and speeding up the resolution of cases. The introduction of the new code was expected to bring improvements to the legal system, but according to some lawyers, it cannot be said that the […]
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The Maldives government has gazetted a new regulation that permit resort developers to extend the designated boundary of their resorts from 500 to 1000 meters. The boundary extension fee for an additional 500 meters is set at $100,000. On March 14, 2023, the Ministry of Tourism launched the new Resort Boundary Regulations, officially known as […]
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