## Facts

- João Antônio Volante, a Brazilian law graduate not admitted to practice, challenged statutory requirements conditioning admission to the legal profession on passing a national bar exam.
- The challenged provisions required approval in the bar exam as a prerequisite to register as an адвogado and authorized the national bar association’s federal council to regulate the exam through internal rules.
- A federal appellate court upheld the bar-exam requirement as consistent with the constitutional freedom of profession, and Volante sought review by extraordinary appeal.
- The supreme court accepted the case for its general constitutional importance and considered whether the statutory scheme unlawfully restricted professional freedom and unlawfully delegated regulatory authority.

## Issues

1. Whether conditioning the practice of law on passing a bar exam violates the constitutional guarantee of freedom to exercise a profession, subject to qualifications established by law.
2. Whether authorizing the national bar association to regulate and administer the bar exam violates constitutional requirements of legality and proper allocation of regulatory authority.

## Decision

- The court unanimously denied the extraordinary appeal and affirmed the lower-court judgment.
- The court held that the bar exam requirement is constitutional because the constitution permits professional qualifications established by statute.
- The court held that statutory authorization for the bar association to regulate and administer the exam is constitutionally permissible within the framework set by the legislature.
- The court rejected claims that the exam amounted to unconstitutional “prior censorship” or otherwise violated due process, equality, or related constitutional guarantees.

## Legal Principles

- Constitutional freedom of profession is not absolute; it may be conditioned on professional qualifications established by law.
- For professions affecting third-party interests and the justice system, the legislature may require objective, ex ante competence screening, including a sufficiency exam.
- Completion of a law degree establishes academic qualification but does not itself confer the professional status or right to practice law.
- The legislature may assign implementation and administration of a statutory qualification exam to a professional regulatory body, so long as the basic requirement and structure are fixed by statute and remain subject to legal constraints and review.

## Conclusion

The court upheld the constitutionality of requiring passage of a bar exam for admission to legal practice and upheld the statutory delegation authorizing the national bar association to regulate and administer that exam.


Volante v. Fed. Council of the Braz. Bar Ass’n, Extraordinário Appeal No. 603583 (Braz. 2011)