Enfin, ça y est l’épreuve orale…

On m’a posé trois sujets.
Comme « l’avocate » que je suis, j’ai choisi les articles sur les prisons en France.

I came to the Alliance Française at about 9:30 a.m., knowing full well that they're out to get me. Even the door signal for the exams was different already. Earlier, everytime I went to the Alliance Française the door signal would indicate these - A1, A2, B1, B2 and their respective rooms. Now they had an extra entry - C1. The whole Alliance Française (and their students) know that I'm the only candidate for the C1, so the pressure actually mounted on me this morning. They were like, "You're the candidate for the C1 !" and "Wa. You actually learn so fast !" when there I was, actually waiting to vomit blood all over the floor. Twice I felt nauseous (but fortunately I didn't vomit), thrice I had to go pee, and I felt like I was having palpitations. DK was there, and he was at the information counter, helping out with registration at the Alliance Française.

The exam coordinator, Farita Rebuan (or Kak Farita as I call her) handed me the three subjects. For each subject, there're three documents, I had to synthesise them all into an essay, and personal opinions and reflections were allowed this time, unlike in the past (oh thank God !). I perused the three subjects. They were marked Sujet #2, #3 and #6 - #2 was on juvenile delinquency, #3 had something gotta do with health (but I didn't touch that at all) and #6, being very pertinent to my AS English Legal System, I took it.

The only difference was, that this time, it concerned French prisons. France has a total different legal system from the UK in the sense that English law is adversarial in nature (as in two lawyers slugging it out in court, with their witnesses, and the judge decides, based on the witnesses, who is guilty and who isn't guilty). French law is inquisitorial in nature - the judge presides over the entire proceedings, he himself asks the questions, he himself evaluates the facts, he himself aids the parties in carrying out the proceedings, and ultimately, the judge makes the decision. So anyway, back to question #6, it went something like this (a rough translation in English) :

Do prisons serve the function of retribution or otherwise ? What is your stand on the current plan to bring back detainees and help them to adapt in society ?

This required the Police and Criminal Evidence (PACE) Act. And Criminal Process. For starters, back when I did my AS, I told Adoravelle "I'm fully neglecting PACE and Criminal Process." Today, I was in dire need of it, and oh yeah - I was also in need of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) - which I knew much better. So with whatever little knowledge of the PACE, Criminal Process and the ECHR, I sat down to writing my synthesis, hoping that I would present it flawlessly. Every now and then the examiners would distract me - well, they actually meant no harm because they were looking for the person doing the C1 and they'd go « Qui est-ce qui passe le C1 ici ? » ("Who in here is doing the C1 ?") and yeah...

Yes, when I came into the examination room, I met the jury. Both French, one guy and one girl. The guy was doing more of the noting. The girl, however, was staring at me fixedly for the most part. And me being the only candidate, my voice and the exam proceedings had to be recorded in audio form for future reference. Yes, I presented my synthesis flawlessly, but when it came to them asking me questions, they really grilled me. It was then that they knew how simplistic my vocabulary was, it was then that they knew what kind of person was speaking. A Law student, so to speak.

Surprisingly, I ended pretty well. After enough talking about prisons, they decided to go along with me on a personal level. And here's how it went, in a rough translation into English :

Male juror : So what is your preferred domain ?
troisnyx* : Well. Let’s see. I have to choose between law and music. (To which the two jurors smiled – I bet troisnyx* is making a mockery of herself in the examination room ! Transfer ! Transfer now !) But then again, law applies everywhere. It’s the most flexible subject I’ve ever seen !
Female juror : Suppose, then, you are pondering on pursuing law as a career – do you prefer criminal law or civil law ?

You know, I had a feeling in my bones yesterday afternoon that they were gonna ask me this. So I sat in my room and rehearsed this part. Today when they asked me this question, I answered quite fluently.

troisnyx* : I would rather civil law. (Both the jurors nodded) I detest criminal law because suppose if I work in a high court in Malaysia and I receive a criminal case. More often than not, it’ll involve serious criminal cases like drug trafficking, murder and rape. I do not want to be held liable for the liberty and ultimately, the life of the defendant. If the defendant is condemned to death, I can’t do anything anymore! (Both of them were startled. I took a breath and then continued) Our function as law--- sorry, my function as a lawyer, if I do become one, is to protect the rights of the person whom I am defending, be it the prosecution or the defendant. It is ultimately the role of the judge to decide who is guilty and who is not. I do not have any say when it comes to defending justice.

At that moment, I felt that I wasn't in the Alliance Française anymore. I felt that I was elsewhere. In a courtroom, perhaps. I somehow believe they were impressed with the ending. Though I hope the middle wasn’t too bad either. I was rather hesitant in the middle (i.e. after the synthesis and before the ending).

Pray God that I do well in the rest of the sections. All these are written sections – I’ve got written comprehension, listening comprehension and the essay paper. Altogether, the written sections form 75% of the total marks. Oh, and pray God that I do well in the oral test too.

Oh, and to include some pictures :

This is how I was dressed and made up for the exam day. Couldn't take the whole figure of myself, so ended up taking the upper half of me. Imagine : red overcoat, red straps, and brown A-line skirt. Oh, and red scrunchie.

This is the convocation (i.e. the examination docket). Name blacked out for anonymity and privacy. Those who know my full name and my candidate number, please don't spill to anyone else.

Je suis naufrage. Aidez-moi.