Maldives
Religious (Islamic) law is a leading source
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The Maldives is a country where Islamic law is the base of the legal system. Its Constitution of 2008 says no law may contradict the tenets of Islam, and statutes cover most areas of life. Only Muslims can be citizens.
Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Where the law comes from
- The Constitution of 2008, the highest law
- Islamic law (Sharia), which no law may contradict
- Statutes, such as the Penal Code and the Family Act, and regulations
- Decisions of the Supreme Court
The main courts
- The Supreme Court, the final court
- The High Court
- Superior courts at first instance, with divisions for criminal, civil, family, juvenile and drug cases, and magistrates' courts on the islands
Becoming a lawyer
A law or Sharia degree and a licence from the Attorney General's Office or the relevant council.
What may surprise you
- The Constitution restricts citizenship to Muslims.
- Judges are often trained in Islamic law as well as in civil law.
- A country of scattered islands has local courts on many of them.
Related systems
How this country is classified
The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Maldives as: Muslim. It names the systems in order of importance.
The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.
Other countries in the same family
Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei, Egypt, Gambia, Iran, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan.
Sources
Sources last reviewed: October 2026.
TheLawToKnow Tools’s Legal Families Atlas is an educational overview. It simplifies on purpose, and it is not legal advice. For a real legal question about Maldives, consult a lawyer qualified there. Report a mistake.
