The Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo approved today by 63 votes the new composition of the Bar Exam Commission, based on the proposal of the Ministry of Justice.

Addressing the Assembly, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Donika Gërvalla, said the move was the result of an in-depth institutional assessment of the current exam organization process, which avoided the need to intervene and improve professional and procedural standards.

“Based on the legal competencies and responsibility to oversee this process, the Ministry of Justice has analyzed the entire process and made a comprehensive assessment of the three exam periods already held by the current Bar Exam Commission”, declared Minister Gërvalla.

Referring to the complaints received, she said there were a total of 243 complaints, which focused on the work of the Commission.

“The findings highlight significant shortcomings in several of essential aspects of the process. There have been identified some deviations from the program and legal framework, including cases of preparing questions falling outside the program and in violation of the legislation in force”, said Minister Gërvalla. She added the process of evaluating candidates’ answers also has been characterized by lack of sufficient justification and consistency, leading to unequal treatment of candidates and violation of principles of objectivity and meritocracy.

Speaking of complaints’ handling, Minister Gërvalla said lack of substantial and individual review of complaints has been identified, as well as use of standardized answers without a concrete justification.

Minister Gërvalla highlighted also the differences in passing results over the years.

“In statistical terms, the comparative analysis of the results between the two periods shows a significant discrepancy in standard assessment. While the exam passing rate in the period 2023–2025 ranged between 3% and 4%, it exceeded 34% in the period 2021–2023.

Summing up the findings, Minister Gërvalla said, the entire process under the current Commission had for more than two years been associated by a lack of transparency, non-compliance with the programmatic and legal framework, non-objective and unsubstantiated assessment, as well as irregularities in documentation and in the handling of complaints.

Therefore, the Ministry of Justice has proposed and the Parliament approved the new composition of the Commission for the Administration of the Bar Examination, in order to guarantee integrity, transparency and full professionalism in this important process.

The new Commission will consist of:

Arian Gashi, Chairperson of the Commission, and Ersan Qavolli, deputy member – Criminal Law (material and procedural);

Lumni Sallauka, deputy chairperson, and Arsim Hamzai, deputy member – Civil Law (material and procedural);

Anita Prenaj-Krasniqi, member, and Suada Rama-Hamza, deputy member – Constitutional Law and Foundations of the Judicial System;

Burim Shala, member, and Nehat Qelaj, deputy member – Commercial Law, Labor Law and Administrative Law;

Bujar Muzaqi, member, and Hysni Ismaili, deputy member – International Law and European Union Law.

The Ministry of Justice will take immediate steps to announce the call for the next exam period for the Bar Exam, ensuring continuity of the process and implementation of the new standards set.