Days after it was revealed that the ruling SDSM party is stacking the commission that organizes the bar exam with its own loyalists, Kurir reports that the Justice Ministry plans to water down the conduct of the test. According to the news site, the commission will be allowed to do oral exams for law graduates who want to pass the bar exam, which will allow commission members to glide politically linked candidates through, without leaving any evidence of their actual competence.

The oral examination was abandoned in favor of a written test precisely to avoid this type of abuse, but now Justice Minister Renata Deskoska had it reintroduced. The political links of the new members of the commission were recently revealed in detail.

SDSM relies on its control over the judiciary to cling to power and controlling the bar exam will allow the party to have long term influence over the staffing of the judiciary. Law graduates must pass the bar exam to practice law, or to join the ranks of judges or prosecutors.