Ordinance on Law Examinations (JPV) - Existence and Election (RPJ)

1. The bar examination and the notary examination are administered by the Legal Examination Commission.

2. The Legal Examination Commission consists of 5 members and 5 substitute members, including at least two attorneys registered in the Solothurn Bar Register.

3. The Government Council elects the president, the vice president, the other members, and the substitute members.

4. The State Chancellery (hereinafter: the Department) designates extraordinary representatives. It handles the secretariat.

1. An applicant shall be admitted to the bar examination if they have completed the legal internship in accordance with this regulation and can provide proof of having completed a legal degree at a Swiss university with a Master's or Licentiate. A degree from a foreign university is equivalent as required by federal law.

1. Admission to the notary examination is granted to those who can demonstrate

a) Swiss citizenship;

b)* ...

c) Three years of work in a Solothurn administrative office (notary office, land registry office, inheritance office, commercial register, debt enforcement and bankruptcy office);

d)* Complete attendance of the training in accordance with the Ordinance on seminar courses for employees of administrative offices to prepare for the Solothurn notary examination dated 7 June 2005, whereby the department may approve minor deviations from this requirement in justified exceptional cases;

e)* A recommendation in specialized matters by the conference of specialized teaching staff.

2. Furthermore, admission to the notary examination is granted to those who can demonstrate

a) Swiss citizenship;

b) Residency in the Canton of Solothurn for at least two years since reaching the age of 18;

c)* Completion of a law degree with a Master's or a licentiate from a Swiss university;

d) Completion of a legal internship as per § 7 paragraph 4 of this ordinance.

**1.** Any person seeking admission to the bar or notarial examination must also be fully competent to act and free of any certificate of loss resulting from bankruptcy, and must not have been criminally prosecuted or convicted for conduct incompatible with the profession of an attorney, court clerk, or notary.

1. Admission is granted by the department upon written application. For the procedure regarding admission to the examination, § 6 paragraph 2 is applicable. However, individuals who have been admitted to the legal internship according to § 6 need only submit a brief description of their curriculum vitae and an extract from the central criminal register if expressly required by the department.

2. The oral bar examination and the oral notary examination according to § 19 paragraph 3 of this ordinance must be taken within four years of the completion of the legal internship, and the oral notary examination according to § 18 paragraph 3 of this ordinance must be taken within three years of admission to the examination. Anyone who does not present themselves for the examination in a timely manner is excluded.

3. The department may extend the deadlines according to paragraph 2 for important reasons, provided that these deadlines may not be extended by more than half in total.

1. Admission to the legal internship is granted to those who can provide proof of the following

a) A legal education completed at a Swiss university with a Bachelor's, Master's, or Licentiate degree; for admission to the legal internship according to § 7 paragraph 4 of this ordinance, a Master's or Licentiate degree is required; a degree from a foreign university is considered equivalent, as mandated by federal law;

b) Residency in the canton of Solothurn for at least two years since reaching the age of 18.

1bis. Applicants for admission to the legal internship must also be fully capable of acting and free of debt collection certificates, and must not be subject to criminal prosecution or conviction for conduct that is incompatible with the profession of a lawyer or notary.

2. A written application for admission must include a brief description of the applicant's curriculum vitae and an excerpt from the central criminal register. The department may request additional documentation in individual cases, particularly to verify the applicant's capacity to act and absence of debt collection certificates. It may also require the applicant's unconditional consent to allow the department access to relevant criminal judgments and files from completed or pending criminal proceedings. The department will deny admission if the required documents are not submitted or if the prerequisites are not met.

3. Admission is granted by the department. The decision will specify the internship positions. The department will only grant admission to persons with a Bachelor's degree if the relevant internship positions (§ 7 paragraphs 2 and 3) consent to the internship in each individual case.

1. The legal internship lasts 12 months. It must be completed within a maximum of 24 months from the start of the internship. For persons with a Bachelor's degree, the department may exceptionally extend this period, but by no more than a total of 12 months.

2. At least 6 months must be completed with an attorney who is registered in the cantonal attorney register. The department maintains a list of attorneys who offer internship positions and may publish this list in electronic media. The department may approve the legal internship with an attorney who is registered in the attorney register of another canton; such approval must be granted before commencing such an internship.

3. Furthermore, the legal internship may be completed at a Solothurn court, with the public prosecutor's office, the juvenile prosecutor's office, within a legal service of the cantonal administration, including independent institutions, or in a Solothurn registrar's office (notary's office, land registry office, inheritance office, commercial register, debt enforcement and bankruptcy office).

4. The legal internship according to § 4 paragraph 2 letter d of this ordinance lasts 6 months. It must be completed at a Solothurn registrar's office (notary's office, land registry office, inheritance office, commercial register, debt enforcement and bankruptcy office). An internship according to § 7 paragraph 3 is not credited.

5. Absences due to pregnancy, vacation, illness, accident, military service, etc., are not credited to the duration of the legal internship.

6. Upon request, the department may exceptionally credit practical legal work performed before the internship, which the applicant has completed in a full-time position for at least one year or in a part-time position for a correspondingly extended minimum duration at a position specified in § 7 paragraph 2 (first sentence) or paragraph 3, partially towards the internship duration under § 7 paragraph 1. The applicant must prove that the work could make a significant contribution to practical legal training and exam preparation. A credit of up to a maximum of 3 months is possible.

1. The management of the internship position is responsible for the practical training of legal trainees.

1. The examination consists of written assignments and an oral exam.

2. Written examinations are held at least twice a year for each subject.

3. The author of the examination question determines the permissible aids.

4. The oral examination lasts 20 minutes per subject; it is public and announced in the official gazette.

1. The Legal Examination Commission evaluates the performances with the grades: very good, good, satisfactory, sufficient, insufficient; gradations are possible.

2. The final grade is the average of the grades from the individual written exams and the oral exam. It is announced immediately following the oral exam.

1. After evaluating all written assignments, the Legal Examination Committee decides on admission to the oral examination. Admission requires that each assignment can be awarded at least the grade "sufficient."

2. To conduct the oral examination, the Legal Examination Committee may form panels consisting of at least two members per examination subject.

1. Written examination papers graded as "insufficient" may be retaken once.

2. The oral examination is considered passed if at least the grade "sufficient" can be awarded in each subject. It may be retaken as a whole once.

3. Absence after receiving the invitation to the examination, not commencing the examination, or discontinuing an examination once started without compelling reasons are considered equivalent to failing. Compelling reasons specifically include illness or an accident of a certain severity, as well as the death of a close relative. These must be reported immediately and substantiated by a medical certificate explicitly confirming the inability to take the examination or other pertinent documents. The Legal Examination Commission makes the decision. It may request additional documents or information, particularly a detailed medical explanation. § 6 paragraph 2 applies accordingly.

1. Anyone who influences or attempts to influence an examination grade through deception, specifically by using unauthorized aids, has failed the examination and will be barred from taking further examinations for at least one year. The Judicial Examination Commission makes the decision.

1. The written attorney examination includes the drafting of a judgment, a legal document, or another practice-related written submission

a) in a civil proceeding;

b) in a criminal proceeding;

c) in a case concerning constitutional or administrative law, including procedural law issues.

2. 8 hours are allocated for each examination subject.

3. The oral attorney examination includes

a) civil procedural law and the basics of civil law;

b) criminal procedural law and the basics of criminal law;

c) constitutional and administrative law.

1. The Legal Examination Commission determines, on a case-by-case basis within the framework of federal law, the subject matter of the aptitude test or interview for foreign lawyers.

1. The Written Notarial Examination Comprises

a) the drafting of a document or the preparation of a practice-oriented brief in property law, particularly in land registry law including legal titles, or in debt enforcement and bankruptcy law;

b) the drafting of a document or the preparation of a practice-oriented brief in matrimonial property law, inheritance law, corporate law, or other notarial practice areas;

c) a paper on theoretical questions in civil law.

2. Each examination subject allows for 8 hours.

3. The Oral Notarial Examination Comprises

a) debt enforcement and bankruptcy law;

b) notarial law and practice, including matrimonial property law and inheritance law;

c) Civil Law I (Civil Code, excluding matrimonial property law and inheritance law);

d) Civil Law II (Law of Obligations);

e) Fundamentals of Constitutional and Administrative Law.

1. The written notarial examination for individuals who have completed a law degree at a Swiss university includes the drafting of a document or the preparation of a practice-related submission in property law, particularly land registry law including the certificate of title, in debt enforcement and bankruptcy law, in marital property law, in inheritance or corporate law, or from other notarial practice.

2. Eight hours are available for the examination.

3. The oral notarial examination for such persons includes

a) Debt enforcement and bankruptcy law;

b) Notarial law and notarial practice;

c) Fundamentals of constitutional and administrative law.

4. If the individual holds a Solothurn attorney's license or if they take the notarial examination together with the bar examination, the oral notarial examination only includes notarial law and notarial practice.

1. The government council issues the patent upon request of the Legal Examination Commission. This is issued in the form of a certificate. The patent issuance is published in the official gazette.

1. Appeals against decisions of the Legal Examination Commission and orders of the Department may be lodged with the Administrative Court.

1. For individuals who are admitted to the legal internship under the Legal Internship Regulation of February 19, 1975, at the time of the enactment of this regulation, the following transitional provisions apply

a) they shall complete the legal internship according to the 1975 regulation;

b) they may register for the bar examination exclusively or additionally for the notarial examination;

c) they shall take the examinations in accordance with the present regulation; during the first 6 months following the enactment of this regulation, the examination rules for attorneys, notaries, and court clerks of February 19, 1975, shall still apply to written and oral examinations.

2. Written examinations completed under the 1975 examination rules shall be recognized as examinations under the present regulation. Anyone repeating a written examination for the first time under the new regulation, which was originally taken under the old regulation, may repeat it one additional time.

3. Anyone who did not pass an oral examination taken under the old regulation may repeat it once under the new regulation.

1. Until December 31, 2003, six months of the traineeship may exceptionally be completed at a court in Solothurn instead of with an attorney who is registered in the cantonal attorney register (§ 7 para. 2).

1. Section 7, Paragraph 1, Sentence 2 does not apply to individuals who were admitted to the legal internship before January 1, 2007.

1. The amended provisions are applicable immediately. Paragraph 2 remains reserved.

2. An examination period that has not yet been extended for the last time and has not expired by the time the amended provisions come into force may, for important reasons, be extended one more time until the end of 2025 at the latest, even if this exceeds the maximum allowable duration according to § 5 Paragraph 3.

1. Paragraphs 1bis and 2 of § 6 are applicable to all persons who have not yet been definitively admitted to the legal internship as of May 1, 2009.

2. § 4bis and § 5 paragraph 1 are applicable to all persons who have not yet been definitively admitted to the examination as of May 1, 2009.

1. Subject to § 22, the following are repealed

a) The Regulation on the Admission of Advocate Trainees in State Offices (Advocate Trainees Regulation) from February 19, 1975;

b) The Examination Regulation for Advocates, Notaries, and Court Clerks from February 19, 1975.

1. The amendments were incorporated into the relevant decree.

1. This ordinance shall enter into force together with the Lawyers Act on January 1, 2001. The right of objection by the Cantonal Council is reserved.