|
|
|
|
Law degree
|
| |
|
| |
A Law degree is the degree conferred on someone who successfully completes studies in law. However many law degrees are insufficient education for a license to practice law by the administrative body of that jurisdiction. For example in England and Wales one needs to complete the Legal Practice Course to become a solicitor or called to the bar to be a barrister.
The first academic degrees were all law degrees, and the first law degrees were doctorates.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Law degree' Start a new discussion about 'Law degree' Answer questions from other users |
Encyclopedia
A Law degree is the degree conferred on someone who successfully completes studies in law. However many law degrees are insufficient education for a license to practice law by the administrative body of that jurisdiction. For example in England and Wales one needs to complete the Legal Practice Course to become a solicitor or called to the bar to be a barrister.
The first academic degrees were all law degrees, and the first law degrees were doctorates. The origins of the doctorate lie in the ijazat attadris wa 'l-ifttd ("license to teach and issue legal opinions") in the medieval Islamic madrasahs from the 9th century. The foundations of the first universities in Europe were the glossators of the 11th century, which were schools of law. The first European university, that of Bologna, was founded as a school of law by four famous legal scholars in the 12th century who were students of the glossator school in that city. It is from this history that it is said that the first academic title of doctor applied to scholars of law. The degree and title were not applied to scholars of other disciplines until the 13th century. And at the University of Bologna from its founding in the 12th century until the end of the 20th century the only degree conferred was the doctorate, usually earned after five years of intensive study after secondary school. The rising of the doctor of philosophy to its present level is a modern novelty. At its origins, a doctorate was simply a qualification for a guildthat of teaching law.
The University of Bologna served as the model for other law schools of the medieval age. While it was common for students of law to visit and study at schools in other countries, such was not the case with England because of the English rejection of Roman law (except for certain jurisdictions such as the Admiralty Court) and although the University of Oxford and University of Cambridge did teach canon law until the English Reformation, its importance was always superior to civil law in those institutions.
Sample List of Degrees
The type of law degree conferred differs according to the jurisdiction. Some examples include:
- Bachelor of Laws also referred to as a B.A. in Law (B.L.), or an LLB (Hons) in the United Kingdom and various current or former Commonwealth countries. It is an undergraduate degree.
- Laurea in Giurisprudenza or Dottore in Giurisprudenza for graduates before the Bologna Process reforms, or Laurea Specialisticą in Giurisprudenza (not the Laurea Triennale, and which confers the title of "Dottore Magistrale in Giurisprudenza") after the Bologna Process reforms, in Italy. It is a masters level degree, however all graduates of Italian universities, even of the undergraduate degree, are authorized to use the title of "dottore" (Italian for doctor).
- Erstes Juristisches Staatsexamen is the equivalent to the law degree, since the second part (Zweites Juristisches Staatsexamen) is the German equivalent to the Bar exam in the U.S. At some Universities you either become a "Lizentiat des Rechts (Licentiatus iuris)", a Magister iuris or a Diplom-Jurist. It is a masters level degree.
- Juris Doctor in the United States and Japan (also offered at some schools in Canada, Australia, and Hong Kong). It is a doctorate level degree.
- Licenciado en Derecho ("Licenciate in Law") in Spain. It is a an undergraduate degree.
- Licenciatura en Derecho ("Bachelor in Law") in Mexico. It is an undergraduate degree.
- Lizentiat der Rechtswissenschaften (German) / Licence en droit (French) until 2004 and Master of Law (MLaw) since 2004 (as a result of the Bologna Process) in Switzerland. It is a masters level degree.
- Magister iuris (Mag. iur.) ("Master of Law") in Austria. It is a masters level degree.
- Specialist in law or Jurist in Ukraine and Russia. It is a graduate degree, though not at the masters level.
See also
|
| |
|
|
