Palestinian Bar Training Entry Exam common mistakes
Palestinian Bar Training Entry Exam · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Treating Jordanian-era statutory rules as still controlling in the West Bank and applying them without checking whether the Jordanian text, the Ottoman land code, the British Mandate ordinances, or Palestinian Authority amendments govern the point, and citing the wrong instrument in the answer.
Most candidates study from older Arabic manuals and university notes written before the PA legal amendments, and the exam's Land and Civil questions deliberately test the layering of sources in force in the West Bank and Gaza, which differ from each other.
What to do instead
Build a one-page source map for each domain listing the instrument actually in force (Jordanian Civil Code No. 43 of 1976 as amended, Ottoman Land Code 1858, Mandate ordinances, PA laws and presidential decrees) and, for each practice question, write the instrument and article number before the rule. Verify current status against the Official Gazette or the Palestinian Legislative Council record rather than relying on a textbook.
Answering a civil procedure question on jurisdiction or time limits from memory of the general rule, without distinguishing the value-based jurisdiction of the magistrate (sulh) courts from the courts of first instance, and without applying the correct appeal period for each court level.
Candidates memorize the concept of 'first instance' and 'appeal' but not the monetary thresholds and the separate periods for appeal, cassation, and retrial, which are frequently amended and are tested as numbers.
What to do instead
Make a table of court levels, monetary jurisdiction thresholds, and each procedural period (appeal, cassation, retrial, objection by third party) with the article that sets it. Redo the table from the current law each time you see an amendment, and drill numerical questions until the threshold-to-court mapping is automatic.
In criminal procedure questions, failing to state the consequence of a procedural defect, such as an unlawfully obtained confession or a search conducted without a warrant or lawful exception, and instead only describing the defect.
Candidates learn the rules of arrest and search but not the remedy, and the exam asks what the court must do, not merely what the police did wrong.
What to do instead
For every procedural rule you study, attach the sanction: nullity of the evidence, inadmissibility, disciplinary liability, or exclusion of the statement. Practice answering in the form 'the act is invalid because..., therefore the court must...' and cite the constitutional fair-trial guarantee alongside the Criminal Procedure Law article.
Mixing the company forms and their capital, liability, and governance rules, for example applying a private limited company's rules to a public shareholding company, or stating the wrong quorum for a general assembly meeting.
The Jordanian Companies Law and PA company rules share terminology but differ in thresholds, and candidates study the forms in isolation without comparing them side by side.
What to do instead
Create a comparison grid across the company forms with columns for minimum capital, number of founders, liability, transfer of shares, and assembly quorum and majority. Then answer past-style questions by locating the company form first and reading only that column.
On labor questions, applying the notice period, end-of-service gratuity, or annual leave entitlement without first classifying the contract as indefinite or fixed-term and without checking whether the worker is covered by the Labor Law or excluded.
Candidates jump to the gratuity formula because it is memorable, and skip the threshold questions of coverage and contract type that determine whether the formula applies at all.
What to do instead
Adopt a fixed sequence for every labor question: (1) is this person a worker under the Labor Law or excluded, (2) is the contract indefinite or fixed-term, (3) what is the length of service, (4) apply the statutory formula, (5) check whether a more favorable contract term or collective agreement applies. Write the sequence at the top of your answer.
In family and personal status questions, applying one religious court's rules to a party of a different confession, or ignoring the question of which court has jurisdiction over a mixed or non-Muslim family.
Personal status law in Palestine is confessional, and candidates study one community's rules as if they were general, while the exam tests jurisdiction allocation between sharia and ecclesiastical courts.
What to do instead
Before applying any substantive rule, state the confession of the parties and the competent court, then the applicable law. Keep separate outlines for the sharia courts and the ecclesiastical courts and a short note on jurisdiction over non-Muslims and foreigners.
Answering constitutional and administrative law questions by describing the principle of legality in the abstract, without identifying the specific remedy, such as annulment of an administrative decision, compensation, or suspension of execution, and without stating the limitation period for challenging the decision.
Candidates learn the doctrine of judicial review but not the procedural machinery, and the exam rewards the precise remedy and deadline over general statements about the rule of law.
What to do instead
For each ground of review (lack of competence, defect of form, abuse of power, violation of law) write the remedy and the deadline for filing. Practice short answers that name the court, the remedy, and the period in the first sentence.
In legal ethics questions, choosing the answer that best serves the client's interest, such as contacting an opposing party directly or acting on a conflict without disclosure, instead of the answer that preserves the advocate's statutory and disciplinary duties.
Candidates reason from general morality or from what a diligent lawyer would do for the client, and do not know the specific duties of the Palestinian Bar Association code on conflicts of interest, confidentiality, fees, and advertising.
What to do instead
Read the Bar Association's code of conduct and disciplinary rules directly and convert each duty into a one-line rule with its sanction. For each ethics scenario, identify the duty in conflict and apply the rule, not the outcome that helps the client.
Writing a pleading, contract clause, or legal opinion that states conclusions without the facts, the legal basis, and the requested relief, and omitting the formal elements such as the court, the parties, and the date.
Candidates treat drafting questions as essay questions and write general commentary, while the exam tests whether they can produce a usable document with the required structure.
What to do instead
Memorize a template for each document type (statement of claim, defense, appeal, contract, legal opinion) with its mandatory headings. Practice under time pressure, then check against the template: parties, facts, legal grounds with article numbers, requests, signature, and date.
On international law and human rights questions, citing a treaty by name without checking whether Palestine is a state party and without distinguishing treaty obligations from customary international law, and ignoring the domestic effect of ratified treaties.
Candidates rely on general knowledge of human rights instruments and do not track Palestine's accession status or the constitutional position of treaties in the domestic order.
What to do instead
Keep an accession table of the core treaties (Geneva Conventions, ICCPR, ICESCR, CRC, Rome Statute) with Palestine's status and date, and a note on how ratified treaties operate domestically. Answer by stating status first, then the obligation, then the domestic effect.