Revamping The Bar Examinations - 1936-37 - critical analysis and reform

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Angel

The text argues for revising bar examination timing and, more urgently, the substance of the tests used to determine admission to the Philippine Bar. It recounts a petition to move the exams to April and explains why it was denied due to economic opposition. It then questions whether current examinations truly measure legal readiness or merely reward memory of codal provisions and decided cases, stressing that law is a science requiring evaluation beyond rote recall.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

Revamping the bar examination schedule

Why the petition was denied

What the exams should measure

Critique of memory-based assessment

Bar admission requirements and legal training

Scientific validity of the examination

# Revamping The Bar Examinations OMETIME ago,a petition was filed by the College of Law of the University of thePhilippines to the Supreme Courtto hold the Bar Examinations inthe month of April instead ofAugust.The practical reasons ad-vanced for the change were:first,that by March the law graduateis fully prepared to take the barexaminations immediately aftergraduation;second,that the pre-bar review is a mere duplicationof the second semester of the se-nior year;third,that the specialpre-bar review,besides being awaste of time to the law graduatesand the law professors,is a wasteof money to the parents of the barcandidates;fourth,because bygiving the bar examinations onApril,the results may be an-nounced by the end of June andthe successful candidates sworn inwhen the court meets in July,eachyear,thus giving the young law-yers an earlier start in the prac-tice of the profession.(Minutesof Faculty Meetings of College ofLaw,U.P.,1936-37,pp.70-71)Because of the opposition of manyprivate schools for purely eco-nomic reasons,the petition was de-nied. The petition to change themonth for holding the bar exam-inations,indicates at least a strug-gle against inertia on the part ofcertain professors of law andmembers of the bar who have asincere interest in the welfare ofthe bar candidates.But ofgreater importance than the time of the examinations are the ex-aminationsthemselves.Pertinent By RAUL O.DEL CASTILLO questions are:Do they afford a true gauge of who should beadmitted as members of thePhilippine Bar;do they servethe purpose for which they wereintended;to strain and filter thosecandidates who pass by the hun-dreds from law schools? Whilethe time for holding and the pro-cedure of the bar examinations callfor some changes,the very sub-stance of the examinations is ingreater need of revamping. "Physicians,like lawyers,"saysFerdinand Lundbergh, (ThePriesthood Of The Law,HarpersMagazine,April,1939)"operateunder political authority.But itis not the license that makes a mana physician.The license is onlyan afterthought,a purely regula-tory measure.With the lawyer,however,it is his license ratherthan his supposed learning thatconfers competency upon him.No matter how much one mayknow about the law,one is not,by any means,a lawyer without alicense to practice issued by thebench upon the certification of thebar examiners."Since the licenseis the passport to the practice ofthe profession and since passingthe bar examinations is the condi-tion precedent to a license,it is ofimportance for us to critically examine our bar examinations.Justice Laurel,at the Judges'Con-vention in Baguio,said:"In coun-tries,where an enlightened judicialsystem is in vogue,admission tothe bar,no less than the selectionof judges,is regulated with utmostconcern.In our case,we have es-ablishedcertaintandardrequire- ments for the admission to the practice of law,but there is a feel-ing that the output speaks moreof quantity than of quality." An applicant for admission tothe bar is required to show thathe has “regularly studied law forfour years and successfully com-pleted all the prescribed courses,ina law school or university,"and'that.before he began the studyof law,he had pursued and satis-factorily completed in a recog-nized university or college of I-beral arts,requiring for admissionthereto the completion of a four-year high school course,the firsttwo years of the course of studyprescribed therein for a degree inarts and sciences."(Rule 127,secs.5 and 6,Rules of Court.)Normally,therefore,an applicantmust have undergone seventeenyears of study before he canpresent himself for admissionto the bar. Are the bar examina-tions,then,of the type to call forthe fundamental training of thefirst eleven years,the liberal studiesin the preparatory law and,final-1y,the four-year specialized andintensive law course? Are theydesigned to test the "natural abil·ity of the candidate,"which is themost important quality to belooked for in applicants for ad-missi

FAQs

Why was the petition to move the bar examinations from August to April denied?

The petition was denied due to opposition from many private schools for purely economic reasons.

What does the text say are the most important issues besides the timing of the exams?

It argues that more important than when the exams are held is the substance of the examinations themselves—whether they should be redesigned.

What criticism does the text make about the bar examinations in recent years?

It states that recent bar examinations emphasize subject matters requiring memory, such as codal provisions and decided cases, rather than testing true ability and study.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Angel