Book Description

This book is aimed at providing law students, legal practitioners and other researchers with an introduction to the Maldivian legal system. The book is divided into ten chapters incorporating all aspects of the Maldivian legal system. Chapter 1 makes a thorough investigation of the ancient legal system of the Maldive Islands. This chapter also briefly looks at the ancient political system of the country with a view to understand the background in which the legal system operated and developed over the course of history. As this has not been the subject of any previous study, this chapter will not only benefit law students and legal researchers, but also be of use to those who are interested in studying the ancient kingdom of the Maldive Islands. Chapter 2 follows the development of the Maldivian legal system during the 20th century. The purpose of this chapter is to explore the factors that triggered the legal system’s transformation from an ancient simplicity to a modern complexity. Chapter 3 explains the sources of Maldivian law from which laws are derived an applied by the courts. Chapter 4 examines the court system. In this chapter, various courts and their powers are examined in detail. Chapter 5, 6 and 7 focuses on the actual people who drive the legal system - the judges, prosecutors and the legal profession. As such, these chapters analyze the constitutional role of the judges, judicial service, legal and prosecutorial service of the state and the legal profession. Chapter 8 traces the development and present status of legal education in the Maldives. Chapter 9 and 10 provides an outline of the criminal and civil procedure followed by the courts to administer justice.