Rabat – In an attempt to end months of controversy surrounding the Moroccan bar exam, which takes place once every four years, Morocco’s Ministry of Justice has announced it intends to organize a new examination by next year.
The ministry announced its decision in a press release on Wednesday, reiterating its refusal to annul the results of the December 2022 bar exams. “The demand of some to cancel the results of the aforementioned exam remains unfounded,” said the statement.
Several Moroccan law graduates have been protesting the handling of the latest bar exam, with many participating in hunger strikes in a desperate call for authorities to intervene and respond to their demands to re-organize the examination.
The controversy surrounding Morocco’s bar exam started when exam pass lists surfaced online. The appearance of surnames of affluent and well-known lawyers, including that of the Moroccan Minister of Justice Abdellatif Ouahbi, raised concerns about nepotism and bias in the exam grading process.
Many claimed that some candidates had received higher grades than they deserved, while others had unfairly received failing grades.
Responding to these allegations, the ministry announced it is “opening the door” for failed candidates to check their exam papers and the grades they received, adding that it has “interacted positively” with all the requests it received in this regard.
The National Committee for Victims of the Bar Exam on Tuesday released a statement detailing their demands, which includes organizing a written exam on September 1, 2023, with the results announced on September 16. The association also demands the oral exam take place between September 23 and 25 September.
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