UPDATED FOR THE NEW BAR EXAM FORMAT

Your Quebec Bar Applied Law Exam is quickly approaching and you’re wondering how to do your final prep. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of doing past exams early during your study process as this will help you better understand how the Barreau du Quebec asks questions and will get you into the habit of being on the look-out for the tricks and traps in different questions. Past regular and retake bar exams may be found here (Quebec Bar Past Exams) and past equivalency exams here (Quebec Bar Past Equivalency Exams). All of the past exams are good prep and there is no difference between past regular and retake exams. Nonetheless, the most recent past exam is roughly fifteen years old, so in honour of the fact that this site has received more than 390,000 page views (now a multiple of that number), here is an overview of some of the questions which were asked since the 2017-2018 exam cycles on the different topics:

Obligations:

1. Validity of a sublease: Can a landlord oppose a sublease? (Remember that the landlord is deemed to have consented to the sublease if 15 days have passed since the tenant’s notice)
2. Notification to the insurer: Does an insured have to notify his insurer of certain changes to his habits for life insurance? (Remember that there is a particular legal framework for life insurance as compared to other types of insurance.)
3. Date for the start of interest: As of what starting date can interest be requested in court proceeding?
4. Delay to institute proceeding: Is the party within their delay to institute a Paulian action?
5. Fruits and revenues: What would happen to the rents collected since the institution of proceedings?
6. Notification of poor workmanship: Does the party have to notify the construction company of the poor workmanship before redoing the work?

Civil Liability:

1. Liable parties: Who can be sued?

Business Law:

1. Dividend calculations: Calculate dividends for different classes of shares. (Remember that fixed dividends are presumed to be cumulative even if not explicitly described as such)
2. Required consent and approval: Determine who must vote to modify the share structure of a given class of shares.
3. Required documents for amalgamations: Which documents must be submitted to the Quebec Business Registrar during an amalgamation?
4. Business Registrar: What documents must be submitted to the Business Registrar after certain changes?
5. Notice for meetings: Which shareholders must be notified of a special shareholders’ meeting?
6. Errors in a notice for meetings: find the errors in a notice for a special shareholders’ assembly.
7. Resolutions: Which resolutions can the Board of Directors adopt on its own without the authorization of shareholders or certain classes of shareholders?
8. Resolutions: What resolutions to name a new director, to issue shares, and to create a new share category?
9. Redemption price calculation: What is the maximum redemption price payable when provided with certain financial statements?
10. Issued and paid-up capital calculation: What is the new issued and paid up capital amount following the purchase of certain shares?
11. By-laws and the statutes: Do the company’s by-laws comply with the underlying business statute?

Family Law:

1. Child support payment calculation: Calculate the amount of child support which should be paid. (Remember the de minimis exception for small costs)
2. Compensatory payment: Would a Court award a compensatory payment to compensate a spouse in a given situation?
3. Family patrimony: To which spouse does certain furniture belong?
4. Family patrimony and the breakdown of the different classes of property: what is the balance owing from one spouse to the other for RRSPs?
5. Private and acquest property: how is certain property to be divided between the parties?
6. Compensation applicable to private and acquests property.
7. Under what conditions can a child support payment be made directly from one spouse to another without passing through Revenue Quebec. (Remember that the Act to Faciliate the Payment of Support is fair game for the exam)
8. Parenting and mediation session: Do the parents have to participate in the parenting and mediation session and do the parents have to attend the session together?
9. Liquidator of the estate: What would happen if a spouse dies after being divorced but before having removed his ex-spouse from his will naming them liquidator of the estate?

Administrative Law:

1. Parties to an administrative action: What are the parties to a particular administrative action and what are their respective titles?
2. Evidence: Is certain evidence admissible for an administrative action?

Labour Law:

1. Delay for accreditation notice: How long must an accreditation notice remain up for? (Remember that weekends are not counted in delays ten days or less)
2. Appropriate tribunal: Who is the appropriate arbitrator/tribunal for a complaint from an employee?
3. What decision should the Labour Tribunal make: What decision should the Labour tribunal make regarding the accreditation application?
4. What decision should the labour relations officer make: What decision should the labour relations officer make regarding a petition for certification?
5. Contempt: How should the Superior Court rule on a question of contempt of court involving a Labour Tribunal court order?
6. Who can vote: How many employees would be entitled to vote at a secret ballet to accredit an association of employees?
7. Elements for recourse: What elements must be satisfied for a particular recourse to be exercised by a given employee?
8. Recourses: What recourses does an employee have to contest their dismissal?
9. Recourses: What recourses does an employee have to contest the end of their employment and request their reinstatement?
10. Recourses: What recourses does a union have to stop the work of strike-breakers?
11. Annual leave: How much annual leave indemnity is an employee entitled to receive?
12. Notice after termination: How many weeks of notice are certain employees entitled to after termination? (Be mindful of the particular rules applicable to large-scale layoffs.)
13. Tasks during a strike: Can another employee do particular tasks during a strike?

Priorities and Hypothecs:

1. Ranking of claims: How do several claims rank? (Remember that a garage owner may only have a prior claim if the underlying obligation is valid)
2. Guarantor of a hypothec: What happens if a person default on a hypothec and the hypothec is guaranteed by a third party? (Remember that the rules of suretyship apply)

Criminal Law:

1. Arrest warrant: What provisions determine whether an arrest warrant may be granted? (Remember that there is a special arrest warrant for an arrest in a residence)
2. Arresting officer’s ability to arrest: Does the arresting officer have the obligation or the discretion to arrest an individual?
3. Release: Does the arresting officer have the obligation or the discretion to release an individual from custody?
4. Criminal infractions: What infractions may a person be accused of in a given situation?
5. Defences: What defences may be used against certain accusations in a given situation?
6. Sentences: What sentences can the accused negotiate if he is pleading guilty?
7. Bail hearing: Who will have the burden of proof with respect to the particular charges?
8. Bail hearing: What arguments may be raised at a bail hearing to justify the continued detention of the accused?
9. Bail hearing: Can the judge ask the accused questions about his employment without him having chosen to testify?
10. Bail conditions: What ways could the prosecution seek to modify certain bail conditions?
11. Confiscation: Could the Court order the confiscation of certain property found on the accused’s person?
12. Evidence: What legal means are available to obtain certain bodily samples of the accused?
13. Objection to evidence: Can the defence attorney object to a particular testimony?
14. Preliminary enquiry: What formality must be met when requesting a preliminary enquiry?

Evidence:

1. Evidence type: What type of evidence is a particular document?
2. Value of evidence: How should a judge treat a particular type of evidence?
3. Presence in court: Can a party insist that a person who made a declaration be present in Court to testify?
4. Objections: Can an objection be raised to some evidence being submitted?
5. Appeal: If an objection were allowed on certain evidence, could it be appealed immediately?
6. The validity of a notice pursuant to 264 CCP.

Law of Persons:

1. Temporary guardianship: Must a temporary guardian wait for the permission from the child’s parents in order to consent for the child?