Ministarstvo Pravosuđa
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Unsigned draft, version 18.6.2009 P R A V I L N I K O POLAGANJU PRAVOSUDNOG ISPITA Pursuant to Article 23 paragraph (5), Article 26 paragraph (5) and Article 27 paragraph (4) of the Judicial Trainees and Bar Examination Act (Official Gazette of the Republic of Croatia No. 84/08), the Minister of Justice hereby issues the: O R D I N A N C E ON THE BAR EXAMINATION 1 INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS Article 1 (1) This Ordinance regulates the composition and method of operation of the Bar Examination Committee, method of application for the bar examination, method of selection of case files for written papers, authorized aids in the preparation of written papers, time and place of the written examination, supervision over written examination, manner of conducting oral examination, conditions under which listening to oral examination is allowed, and the contents of the bar examination certificate and diploma. 2 BAR EXAMINATION COMMITTEE Article 2 (1) The Minister competent for judicial matters shall appoint the President and the members of the Bar Examination Committee (hereinafter: the Examination Committee) and their deputies, on the basis of proposals received from the President of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia, President of the High Commercial Court of the Republic of Croatia, President of the High Misdemeanour Court of the Republic of Croatia, President of the Administrative Court of the Republic of Croatia, the Attorney General of the Republic of Croatia, the Croatian Bar Association and the Croatian Chamber of Notaries Public. (2) The Examination Committee before which the bar examination is taken shall consist of a President and four members. (3) The President of the Examination Committee shall determine: - members of the Examination Committee who shall evaluate written papers, and - members of the Examination Committee who shall conduct oral examination of the candidates on certain days. 2 (4) The secretary of the Examination Committee and its deputies, who shall perform professional and administrative tasks for the purposes of the Examination Committee, shall be appointed by the Decision on the appointment of the Examination Committee. (5) Persons holding a bar examination diploma may be appointed secretary and deputy secretaries. (6) The President, members and the secretary of the Examination Committee, as well as their deputies, are entitled to a consideration for their work in the manner prescribed by the Minister competent for judicial matters. Article 3 (1) The Examination Committee, wit the consent of the Minister competent for judicial matters, shall determine the legal sources for the bar examination. (2) The Examination Committee shall align the legal sources for the bar examination with the positive legal regulations no less than twice each year. 3 TAKING THE BAR EXAMINATION 3.1 Application for the bar examination Article 4 (1) The application for the bar examination is submitted to the Ministry competent for judicial matters. (2) Attached to the application, the candidate shall submit: - a diploma of university degree in law (in case referred to in Article 5 paragraph (4) of the Judicial Trainees and Bar Examination Act – hereinafter: the Act – translation of a foreign diploma shall also be attached); - proof of compliance with the criteria under Articles 21 and 22 of the Act; - proof of payment of the fee for taking the bar examination; - statement of the candidate on the field of law for the preparation of the third written paper (labour, commercial or administrative law). (2) If the candidate has changed his/her name after obtaining a university degree in law, the application should also contain the excerpt from the register of marriages or marriage certificate, or the decision on the change of name. (3) Documents referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall be submitted in the original or as a certified copy. Article 5 (1) A personal file shall be opened for each candidate, containing: - the candidate’s application, - documents proving compliance with the requirements for admission to the bar examination, 3 - decision on admission to the bar examination, - corrected and graded originals of the candidate's written papers, and opinions and grades given by the members of the Examination Committee, - protocol on the course of the bar examination, - a copy of the Bar Examination Certificate, - the candidate’s requests and decisions of the Examination Committee, if they refer to the examination procedure, - medical or other documentation, if they refer to the examination procedure. 3.2 Bar examination schedule Article 6 (1) The schedule of the written and oral parts of the bar examination shall be determined in the form of a timetable by the Ministry competent for judicial matters. (2) Candidates shall be notified of the time scheduled for their written examination in advance, not later than 15 days before the date of the written examination. (3) The notification on the date of the bar examination shall contain the time and place set for the written examination, notice to the candidate on his obligation to present, at the time of examination, a valid personal identification card or a passport, and instruction on the possibility of use of aids provided for in this Ordinance. Article 7 (1) A new date can be set for the written examination of a candidate at the candidate's request and in case of the candidate could not take the written examination for justified reasons. The request shall be submitted to the Ministry competent for judicial matters within 8 days after cessation of circumstances preventing the candidate from taking the examination. (2) The candidate who failed to take the written part of the bar examination without justified reason can take the bar examination after no less than three months from the date set for his/her written examination. 3.3 Written examination Article 8 (1) The Examination Committee shall select case files to serve as a basis for written papers. In case the case file contains a decision that the candidate should prepare, the said decision shall be removed from the file. (2) First-instance case files from the civil and criminal judicial practice shall serve as basis for the written papers. (3) The candidate’s third written paper shall deal with labour, commercial or administrative law, at his personal choice, and can, in addition to drawing up of a judgement, represent 4 drawing up of a decision, complaint and response to complaint, appeal and other reasoned motions to the court. (4) In case of justified reasons such as protection of privacy, protection of a business or official secret or data protection for some other justified reason, case files shall not contain names of parties to the proceedings. (5) Candidates writing the paper on the same day can be given copies of the same case files to serve as basis. (6) Copies of the case files for written papers shall be sealed in separate envelopes to be opened on the day of the written examination, immediately before the commencement of the examination. Article 9 (1) All three written papers shall be written in the course of eight days, but only one paper can be written in one working day. (2) Written papers shall be written in Croatian and in Latin script. Article 10 (1) Writing of a particular written paper may not take longer than six hours. If the candidate fails to complete the written paper during this time, he/she shall submit it unfinished, and this fact shall be entered into the protocol on the course of the bar examination. (2) In case of a disturbance in the regular course of the written examination, the person appointed for supervision, with the consent of the President of the Examination Committee, may grant additional time for writing papers proportionate to the duration of the disturbance, but not longer than two hours. In case of a disturbance lasting for more than two hours, particular or all candidates shall be given a chance to write the concerned written paper at a different time. Article 11 (1) At the request of a candidate with disability, the President of the Examination Committee may grant the candidate a maximum of additional two hours if the candidate, due to his/her disability, cannot complete the written paper within time determined in Article 10 paragraph 1 of this Ordinance. (2) The request referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be made in the application for the bar examination, and shall be accompanied by valid medical documentation. (3) A decision regarding the request shall be delivered to the candidate along with the invitation to take the written examination. Appeal against this decision shall not be admitted. Article 12 Written papers shall be prepared at the venue determined by the Ministry competent for judicial matters. 5 Article 13 (1) In the preparation of the written papers, candidates may use as authorised aids only the original texts of regulations representing legal sources for taking the bar examination. The candidates shall bring the authorised aids themselves to the written examination. (2) At the request of a candidate with disability, the President of the Examination Committee may allow the use of additional aids if they are needed in order to enable such a candidate to participate equally in the examination (e.g. a copy of the case file transcribed into Braille or making it readable to the candidate in another way, a computer, a sign language interpreter, material or hearing aids, a person to read the file to the candidate and writing aids or persons helping the candidate to write). (3) The request for the use of additional aids referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article shall be made in the application for the bar examination, and shall be accompanied by valid medical documentation.