More legal professionals required to pass national judicial exam

BEIJING, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Candidates for China's national judicial examination range from those aiming for jobs as judges, prosecutors and lawyers to civil servants and arbitrators, the Ministry of Justice said Monday.

Under a reform that will be launched in January next year, civil servants whose jobs are to review and deliver administrative penalties or offer legal advice will be required to take the exam, said a ministry statement.

Currently only candidates wanting to become judges, prosecutors, lawyers and public notaries are required to take the exam.

A total of 6.19 million people have sat the exam, with 888,000 passing, in the past 16 years since the national exam was adopted, according to the ministry.

Half of those who passed the exam took jobs as judges, prosecutors, lawyers and public notaries while the rest worked in other professions related to law, said Jia Liqun, a senior ministry official. Enditem