Section 29(d) of the Legal Profession Act of the Maldives (LPA) grants the Bar Council the authority to categorize lawyers and prescribe the standards and qualifications applicable to the categories.

Lawyers licensed to practice in the Maldives are categorized into 3 (three) categories:

1. Lawyers licensed to advocate in the lower courts and tribunals;
2. Lawyers licensed to advocate in the High Court of Maldives; and
3. Lawyers licensed to advocate in the Supreme Court of Maldives.

High Court of the Maldives

To obtain the Higher Rights of Audience at the High Court, Lawyers should meet the following criteria: 

1. Minimum 3 (three) years’ experience as a lawyer or Judge;
2. Has never been convicted of an offense for which a hadd punishment is prescribed;
3. If convicted of an offence and sentenced before that period, a period of 5 (five) years have elapsed since a pardon was granted or the service of the sentence.

Under 15-1 (a) and (b) of the Higher Rights of Audience Rules, to obtain the Higher Rights of Audience at the High Court, applicants are required to pay a one-off fee as per the following: 

• Registration Fee: MVR 1,500

Supreme Court of the Maldives

To obtain the Higher Rights of Audience at the Supreme Court, Lawyers should meet the following criteria: 

1. Minimum 5 (five) years’ experience as a lawyer or Judge;
2. Has never been convicted of an offense for which a hadd punishment is prescribed;
3. If convicted of an offence and sentenced before that period, a period of 5 (five) years have elapsed since a pardon was granted or the service of the sentence.

Under 15-1 (a) and (b) of the Higher Rights of Audience Rules, to obtain the Higher Rights of Audience at the High Court, applicants are required to pay a one-off fee as per the following: 

• Registration Fee: MVR 2,000

Apply for Higher Rights Audience

Apply for HRA using the form below

Application Form - Higher Rights of Audience

Affirmation: 

Payment Instructions

For the payment of the registration/annual fees, please follow the instructions below.  

• Account Name: Bar Council of the Maldives
• Bank:  Maldives Islamic Bank
• Account Number: 90101555000971000

Kindly read all the below instructions prior to making the payment:

1. Fees must be made as one single payment; fee payment on an installment basis is not permitted.
2. Only bank transfers and cash deposits will be accepted.
3. If you are making the payment via cash deposit, kindly send us a clear scan of the deposit slip via e-mail.
4. If the cash deposit is made through the ATM, please mention that the deposit has been made via ATM deposit.
5. If you are making the payment via transfer, the transfer slip must bear your full name, national ID card number in the payment description.
6. Kindly share the transfer slip/receipt via https://forms.gle/wo2WxSPCoBqJ3eFQ6.
7. If your payment is made by a third party, the bank account name of the third party, full name and national ID card number must be clearly mentioned in the return e-mail.
8. Fee will be deemed to be received by the Bar Council of the Maldives only upon the verification from the Maldives Islamic Bank.
9. Once the fee is received by the Bar Council of the Maldives, you will be issued with a payment receipt. 

Notifying Errors in HRA Register

If your information is listed incorrectly on the HRA Registers, please notify the Bar Council via this form: