UST WILL host the bar examinations for the third consecutive year, which will see a return to the old essay test format.
A Bar Bulletin posted on the website of the Supreme Court said the exam for aspiring lawyers will be held in UST during the four Sundays of October.
Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina said law school deans had unanimously endorsed UST to the Supreme Court as the venue of this year’s exams.
“[The University] has excellent facilities and it is pleasing to the eyes. It is also because of the hospitality of the administration,” Divina said.
Divina, executive vice president of the Association of Law Deans said Civil Law will also offer UST as the venue for the Bar exams next year.
The Supreme Court has decided to bring back the original format of the exam, which contains essay questions.
In a survey conducted by the Supreme Court, law deans favored the essay questionnaire over last year’s format, in which 60 percent consisted of multiple choice questions.
The survey offered three options—the first bar examinations format composed purely of essay-type questions; the 60-percent multiple choice and 40-percent essay format used last October; and the proposed 80-percent essay and 20-percent multiple choice format.
The third option was approved.
“Based on the result of the survey, majority of the deans preferred to revert to the traditional essay question which will consist of 80 points,” Divina told the Varsitarian.
“The new Bar chairman raised the bar for examinees because “ a law student should be gauged by his ability to express himself, verbally and through writing,” he added.
Associate Justice Arturo Brion is in-charge of the exams this year.
The 2013 Bar exams was scheduled in October to give examiners more time to check the papers.
“Because the exam will revert to essay questions, Justice Brion thinks the examiners need more time to be able to check the papers so the results can be released by March or April,” Divina said.
The examinations on Political and Labor Law will be on Oct. 6. Civil Law and Taxation will be on Oct. 13, Commercial Law and Criminal Law on Oct. 20, and Remedial Law and Legal Ethics on Oct. 27.
Last October, 5,686 bar examinees trooped the University for the examinations. The results of the 2012 exam will be announced in March.
