P.R. Laws tit. 4A, § 4
(a) Purpose. — The purpose of the examination shall be to test:
(1) The candidate’s ability to analyze legal problems, applying rules and principles essential to the legal profession, in the different areas of law on which the applicants will be examined, and
(2) the candidate’s ability to use the written language and properly express his ideas.
(b) Questions’ technique and format. —
(1) The examination shall consist of essay and multiple-choice questions. The Board shall determine, in accord[ance] with current educational norms, the proportion, number and weight both types of questions shall have in the examination.
The essay questions shall consist of the presentation of factual situations requiring the examinee to determine the applicable law and to offer juridically acceptable solutions. The examinee shall not be asked questions where he must discuss specific rules or principles for which no factual basis is given. Factual situations shall be clear and precise and, as a rule, they shall not exceed a double-spaced legal-sized paper.
The preparation, administration, and grading of any part of the examination with objective or multiple-choice questions shall comply, as far as possible, with the provisions of these rules. However, the Chairperson of the Board and, by his delegation, the Executive Director, may adopt any other measures to facilitate the preparation, administration, grading, and evaluation of this examination, as well as to retain persons with technical know-how o[f] this type of test.
(2) Questions shall be designed to be answered in five (5) three- (3-) hour periods, but in such way that the question or questions in each period may be reasonably answered by an average applicant in two and a half (2-½) hours.
(3) Questions shall not be, among others:
(A) Captions [captious],
(B) pedantic,
(C) present hypothetical facts which totally or partially coincide with real facts pending adjudication or review before any court or administrative body.
(D) No questions should be asked regarding details that are not pertinent to the practice of the legal profession.
(c) Subjects. —
(1) The bar examination shall only consist of the following subjects:
(A) Administrative law
(B) Constitutional law
(C) Corporations
(D) Family law
(E) Successions [wills and estates]
(F) Mortgage law
(G) Commercial law and negotiable instruments
(H) Criminal law
(I) Evidence
(J) Property law
(K) Ethics and professional responsibility
(L) Obligations and contracts
(M) Civil procedure
(N) Criminal procedure
(O) Torts
The examination may include all, some or any combination of these subjects.
(2) An examination on Notarial Law will be offered [separatedly] from the bar examination to those persons interested in being admitted to the practice of the notarial profession, pursuant to Rule 7 of this appendix.
(d) Drafting and approval of questions. —
(1) The chairperson of the Board or the Executive Director shall organize a committee to draft examination questions, to be composed of members of the Board, attorneys in private practice or public service and law professors. All members of the committee shall be appointed by resolution of the Court. These attorneys shall draft multiple-choice and essay questions on the subjects to be examined in the bar examination. These questions shall be accompanied by directions for grading which shall contain a list of the legal problems which should be identified by the applicants; a brief explanation of possible approaches to and solutions for the problems, and the relative point-value of each question and its subdivisions. When more than one response to a question is possible, the relative point-value of each response should be provided. The directions for grading may be modified during the process of correcting the examinations as provided in Rule 6 of this appendix. When evaluating the examination as a whole the Board shall ensure that questions of equivalent difficulty shall receive equal relative point-value in accord[ance] with current educational norms.
(2) Questions prepared by members of this committee shall be submitted to the Executive Director or officials of the Board for review. Once reviewed, the questions shall be transcribed and reproduced to be submitted for consideration by members of the Board or committees formed by the Chairperson or Executive Director for this purpose. Any question to which a member of the Board objects for good cause shall be rejected. The questions which finally appear on the bar examination shall have the unanimous approval of the Board.
History —Mar. 17, 1983; Feb. 23, 1984; Jan. 16, 1987.