EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICANEWS RELEASE
1 AMERICAN AVENUE
YEREVAN, ARMENIA
TELEPHONE (+374 10) 464700
FAX (+374 10) 464742
E-MAIL: [email protected]
August 28, 2006
Law Exam Surpasses High Bar
On Saturday, August 26, 2006 the Chamber of Advocates (Bar Association) of
the Republic of Armenia conducted the first advocate qualifying exam (bar
exam) in Armenia in five years, and the first exam ever under auspices of
the newly unified Chamber.
Armenia suffers from a severe shortage of qualified defense attorneys for
both civil and criminal cases and the exam process in previous years has
been tainted with controversy from a lack of consistent procedures and an
exam process that was not transparent.
Three hundred and nine candidates from all over Armenia took the exam in the
gymnasium of Yerevan State University under very tight security provided by
the Chamber and under the watchful eyes of Armenian monitors and
international observers, including dozens of student volunteers as well as
representatives of the judiciary and press.
ABA/CEELI, funded by USAID, provided technical assistance in preparing exam
study guides with 2,400 questions and answers which were freely distributed
to all those interested. They also provided the computer technology to
generate randomized variants of both the criminal and civil exams with 100
questions each drawn from these guides on the eve of the exam. The exams
were sealed in envelopes and stamped by the Chamber´s qualifications
commission and locked up over night until opened publicly and distributed on
exam day.
The exams were graded Saturday night and results posted on Sunday morning.
190 candidates (61%) passed the written test and will advance to a second
round of oral testing next month.