C-138/19
Exam for lawyers to practice law is required
Constitutionality review as per a citizen request (Carlos Alberto Santiago Riveros) of the Act 1905 of 2018
Date: 03/28/2019
Judge-Rapporteur: Alejandro Linares Cantillo
The reviewed Act. The Act made it mandatory for students of the schools of law to be soon graduated, to pass an exam to be able to practice law.
The plaintiff´s arguments. The plaintiff claimed that the new requirement ordered by law, contravenes the constitutional principle of equality owing to the fact that it only binds the students of law schools soon to be graduated, but it does not those who have already graduated.
Issue: Does the requirement of passing an exam to practice law for students soon to be graduated, implies inequal treatment with regard to those already graduated?
Ruling and reasoning. The Court ruled the CONSTITUTIONALITY of the questioned regulation on account of the validity of demanding the exam only to those students who are going to graduate after the Act was in force. The Court explained that establishing the moment from which the new regulation will be applied, amounts to a suitable and conducive measure to achieve the aim for which the law was enacted in the first place, without violating the equality principle.
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