IMPORTANT NOTE: This bar coverage description is not intended and should not be used by law schools as a syllabus or course outline in the covered subjects. It has been drawn up for the limited purpose of ensuring that candidates reviewing for the bar examinations are guided on what basic and minimum amounts of laws, doctrines, and principles they need to know and be able to use correctly before they can be licensed to practice law. More is required for excellent and distinguished work as members of the Bar.
The current practice is to define the coverage of the bar exams by naming the laws that each subject will cover. This, however, is too general and does not really tell the examinees the topics they should focus on in their review. As a result, the examinees have been forced to memorize even trivial details lest these be asked in the bar exams.
To address this need, the 2011 Bar Committee decided to redefine the bar exams coverage by stating the specific topics and subtopics of each subject. The redefined scope covers only laws, doctrines, principles, and rulings that a new lawyer needs to know to begin his practice, and was referred to the country's leading reviewers and lecturers before it was approved. This early dissemination will enable the current fourth year law students to concentrate on the basics and stay away from the non-essentials.
Please take notice that the Court en banc issued a Resolution dated February 1, 2011, which read as follows:
“B.M. No. 1161 (Re: Proposed Reforms in the Bar Examinations).-
The Court Resolved, upon the recommendation of the Office of the Bar Confidant, to APPROVE the schedule of the filing of Petitions to Take the Bar Examinations to JULY 1, 2011 up to AUGUST 15, 2011, considering that in the resolution of January 18, 2011 in B.M. No. 2265, the date of the 2011 Bar Examinations was moved from September to November 2011.”
Please take notice that the Court en banc issued a Resolution dated February 8, 2011, which read as follows:
“B.M. No. 2265 (Re: Letter of Justice Roberto A. Abad Proposing Changes for Improving the Conduct of the Bar Examinations). x x x
The Court further Resolved to APPROVE the Amendment to Section 11, Rule 138 of the Rules of Court, to wit:
Section 11. Annual examination. — Examinations for admission to the bar of the Philippines shall take place annually in the City of Manila. They shall be held in four days to be designated by the chairman of the committee on bar examiners. The subjects shall be distributed as follows: First day: Political and International Law, and Labor and Social Legislation (morning) and Taxation (afternoon); Second day: Civil Law (morning) and Mercantile Law (afternoon); Third day: Remedial Law, and Legal Ethics and Forms (morning) and Criminal Law (afternoon); Fourth day: Trial Memorandum (morning) and Legal Opinion (afternoon).”
BAR EXAMS UPDATE
PREPARING FOR THE 2011 BAR EXAMS AND BEYOND
BM No. 2265: REFORMS IN THE 2011 BAR EXAMINATIONS
DOWNLOAD SYLLABUS FOR 2011 BAR EXAMINATIONS
Trial Memorandum & Legal Opinion
