In the previous issue, Lawyr.it started a special section dedicated to presenting the Romanian legal educational system. In this issue of our magazine, we will outline some useful facts concerning the final exam that students from the most important law faculties from Romania have to pass.
The Romanian law school final exam represents the equivalent of the Bachelor’s Degree exam in Romania. It traditionally consists of a substantial written paper (essay or project), which is done during the last year of law school under the supervision of a law professor, as well as a test focused on some key subjects studied during law school years.
Each part of the final exam, the test and the project respectively, is evaluated separately and given a mark from 1 to 10. The final score should be more than 6 for the exam to be considered passed, with none of the two parts under the mark of 5.
The essay requires a considerable work, with an extensive study of academic books and articles of well known authors in the chosen subject. Moreover, in order to successfully complete their research, students should have a thorough assessment of law rules as reflected in national and international case law.
Depending on the subject, it is advisable to have some original ideas in the paper, stating your own arguments and making valuable points on the debated issues. Because the paper is an academic work which sums up most of your knowledge acquired during law school, the standards are much higher compared to any other project assigned during college years. Therefore, the essay must be written according to specific legal guidelines, by using specialised legal terminology. Furthermore, the project must have solid and genuine references.
The written paper is usually assessed at the end of the second semester of the last year of law school, before or after the test. The future senior graduate will have to present his work in front of a commission consisting of law professors from their faculty and might be asked several other questions regarding the chosen subject.
The tests organised by these faculties share some similarities. Only students who have passed all their exams during law school years can take the test. Therefore, even tough there are usually two final examination sessions every year, students will choose one of them taking into consideration this aspect.
Romanian law schools focus mostly on four subjects at the graduation test: civil law, civil procedure, criminal law and criminal procedure. As these subjects are compulsory at the Bar exam and the admission exam in the National Institute of Magistracy, the faculties not only assess students’ knowledge, but also prepare them for the further admission exams. Based on the admission exams organised by the Bar and the National Institute of Magistracy, most of the graduation tests consist of questions with three multiple choice answers, out of which only one or two answers are correct.
The Faculty of Law from the University of Bucharest evaluates its students based on a test which has one hundred questions: thirty five on civil law, other thirty five on criminal law, and fifteen questions for each type of procedure, therefore having a similar structure to the admission exams for Bar or Magistracy.
In Cluj, Babes-Bolyai Univeristy’s Faculty of Law organises the graduation exam sessions in January-February and June-July. In 2014, the evaluation was based on forty five questions of civil law and criminal law. Given the recent entrance into force of the new Codes of Civil and Criminal Procedure, this might change in the future.
Timisoara’s graduation exam schedule is a bit different from the other ones. The Law School of the West University of Timisoara has two final examination dates: in July and September. One is a project, representing one third of the final grade. The other one is the written test, which represents two thirds of the final mark and contains questions of civil and criminal law, as well as civil and criminal procedure.
Senior students from the Law School of Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi have the possibility to opt for one of the two examination sessions, the first one in February, and the other one in June or July. The test consists of questions from all the top four subjects: civil law, civil procedure, criminal law, and criminal procedure.
The test organised by the Law School from the University of Craiova has a total of one hundred questions of civil and criminal law, but also of civil and criminal procedure. However, unlike other faculties, Craiova’s answering system is a bit different: from the three given answers only one is correct.
Nonetheless, in any of the mentioned law schools, this is still not enough to graduate. Senior students must also pass a language examination which is focused on evaluating knowledge of legal terms in a foreign language. At the beginning of the first law school year, students choose a foreign language they wish to study during college years from the options they are given by the faculties. The main goal of this is to make students familiar with the legal terminology of a different language than Romanian and therefore, it is compulsory to evaluate student’s progress at the end of college.
In conclusion, no matter the law school you are enrolled in, the graduation exam requires a lot of assiduous work and preparation. Consequently, it is highly recommended to assimilate all legal information taught during college years in a continuous and efficient way, at the right time. This might not only ensure you a good mark in the final evaluation and less stress during your senior year, but also a solid foundation for your future legal career.
The information presented in this article is based on structure and curricula of the previous graduation exams sessions from Romania’s main law schools. Because these data might be subject to change, we kindly invite students who wish to find out more and also stay updated to access the websites of the faculties, as follows:
Faculty of Law – University of Bucharest
Faculty of Law – Babes-Bolyai University
Faculty of Law – Alexandru Ioan Cuza University
Faculty of Law and Administration – Western University
Faculty of Law – University of Craiova