North Macedonian government seeks urgent opinion from Venice Commission on bar exam

At its meeting today, the government approved an urgent request for an opinion from the Venice Commission on the proposed model for administering the bar exam.

According to the Ministry of Justice, the opinion will provide an international, professional and independent assessment of whether the proposed approach complies with the Constitution, international legal instruments and European standards.

The proposal calls for all candidates to take a single exam under equal conditions and the same professional criteria, with no separate exams or different standards. The Venice Commission is an advisory body of the Council of Europe in which 61 member states are represented. It will examine the proposed legal approach from an independent, international professional perspective.

During the process, the Venice Commission’s rapporteurs will meet representatives of relevant institutions, parliamentary political parties and student organizations, as well as the deans of five law faculties. Practical demonstrations are also planned: the written part of the exam will be presented at the Court of Appeal in Skopje, and the oral part at the Ministry of Justice.

The Ministry of Justice stresses that laws must be grounded in the Constitution, the law and European standards, while solutions must emerge from legal reasoning and professional analysis.