Moroccan Bar Exam Controversy Divides Legal Community

In a statement issued after an emergency meeting on the subject, the Association of Moroccan Bar Associations (ABM) denounced the "unjustified reactions that go beyond the legitimate right to demonstrate, and deviate from the possible legal and administrative channels, to harm, abuse and defame the successful candidates and their families, as well as the institutions concerned overseeing the examination." For the Association, it is not appropriate "to take advantage of the aptitude examination for the legal profession to relaunch the campaign to target the legal profession and continue the gratuitous accusations against the professional institutions while questioning their credibility."

At the end of an emergency meeting held on Saturday, the National Syndicate of Justice, for its part, stressed that "there was no leakage or fraud during the written examination period," responding to the "accusations" of the Moroccan Bar Association that the exam questions had leaked and "fraudulent operations" had been recorded in some exam centers. According to the national justice union, affiliated with the Democratic Confederation of Labor (CDT), the low success rate in this exam (2% of registered candidates) is proof "that there is no leakage or cheating," congratulating the ministry of justice employees who participated in the supervision of the candidates, whom it considers as "the most honorable and cleanest actors in the judicial establishment."

"What is circulating in the media regarding the leakage of the written entrance exam to the legal profession, and the fraud operations that some exam centers have experienced, is documented, published and widely disseminated on social media," explains the Moroccan Bar Association, calling for the cancellation of the exam results and the organization of a new competition. A position criticized by the National Syndicate of Justice, which accused the Bar Association of making the magistrates "a scapegoat to get out of the crisis of the exam," as well as those who condemn "the justice employees for leaks and facilitation of fraud" in this exam.

Clearly, the legal community is divided on the issue. The version of Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi on this scandal concerning the results of the written exam for access to the legal profession is also highly anticipated.