The Bachelor of Laws (abbreviated LL. B., LL.B., LLB, or rarely, Ll.B.) is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law (or a first professional degree in law, depending on jurisdiction) originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree.[1] In English-speaking Canada it is sometimes referred to as a post-graduate degree because previous university education is usually required for admission. The "LL." of the abbreviation for the degree is from the genitive plural legum (of lex, legis f., law), thus "LL.B." stands for Legum Baccalaureus in Latin.
The United States is the only common law country that no longer offers the LL.B. While the LL.B. was conferred until 1971 at Yale University, since that time, all universities in the United States have awarded the professional doctorate J.D.,[2] which then became the required degree for the practice of law.[3] It is sometimes erroneously called "Bachelor of Legal Letters" to account for the double "L". Historically, in Canada, Bachelor of Laws was the name of the first degree in common law, but is also the name of the first degree in Quebec civil law awarded by a number of Quebec universities. Canadian common-law LL.B. programs are, in practice, second-entry professional degrees, meaning that the vast majority of those admitted to an LL.B. programme are already holders of one or more degrees, or, at a minimum (with very few exceptions), have completed two years of study in a first-entry, undergraduate degree in another discipline.
Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the first degree in Scots law and South African law (both being pluralistic legal systems that are based partly on common law and partly on civil law) awarded by a number of universities in Scotland and South Africa, respectively.
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The first academic degrees were all law degrees on medieval universities, and the first law degrees were doctorates.[4][5][6] The foundations of the first universities were the glossators of the 11th century, which were also schools of law.[7] The first 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. The University of Bologna served as the model for other law schools of the medieval age.[8] 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.[9]
The bachelor's degree originated at the University of Paris, whose system was implemented at Oxford and Cambridge.[10] The "arts" designation of the degree traditionally signifies that the student has undertaken a certain amount of study of the classics.[11] On continental Europe the bachelor's degree was phased out in the 18th or early 19th century but it continued at Oxford and Cambridge.
The teaching of law at Oxford University was for philosophical or scholarly purposes and not meant to prepare one to practise law.[12] Professional training for practising common law in England was undertaken at the Inns of Court, but over time the training functions of the Inns lessened considerably and apprenticeships with individual practitioners arose as the prominent medium of preparation.[13] However, because of the lack of standardization of study and of objective standards for appraisal of these apprenticeships, the role of universities became subsequently of importance for the education of lawyers in the English speaking world.[14]
In England in 1292 when Edward I first requested that lawyers be trained, students merely sat in the courts and observed, but over time the students would hire professionals to lecture them in their residences, which led to the institution of the Inns of Court system.[15] The original method of education at the Inns of Court was a mix of moot court-like practice and lecture, as well as court proceedings observation.[16] By the seventeenth century, the Inns obtained a status as a kind of university akin to the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, though very specialized in purpose.[17] With the frequent absence of parties to suits during the Crusades, the importance of the lawyer role grew tremendously, and the demand for lawyers grew.[18]
Traditionally Oxford and Cambridge did not see common law as worthy of study, and included coursework in law only in the context of canon and civil law and for the purpose of the study of philosophy or history only. The apprenticeship program for solicitors thus emerged, structured and governed by the same rules as the apprenticeship programs for the trades.[19] The training of solicitors by apprenticeship was formally established by an act of parliament in 1729.[20] William Blackstone became the first lecturer in English common law at the University of Oxford in 1753, but the university did not establish the program for the purpose of professional study, and the lectures were very philosophical and theoretical in nature.[20] Blackstone insisted that the study of law should be university based, where concentration on foundational principles can be had, instead of concentration on detail and procedure had through apprenticeship and the Inns of Court.[21]
The Inns of Court continued but became less effective and admission to the bar still did not require any significant educational activity or examination, therefore in 1846 the Parliament examined the education and training of prospective barristers and found the system to be inferior to the legal education provided in the United States.[14] Therefore, formal schools of law were called for, but not finally established until later in the century, and even then the bar did not consider a university degree in admission decisions.[14] When law degrees were required by the English bar and bar associations in other common law countries, the LL.B. became the uniform degree for lawyers in common law countries.
Historically, law students studied both civil law and common law. Today, this is much less common. However, a few institutions, such as Cardiff University's Department of Canon (Ecclesiastical) Law and McGill University's and the University of Ottawa's combined programme, continue to offer alternatives to the common law.
In most common law countries (with the exception of Canada, and the United States), the Bachelor of Laws programme is generally entered directly after completion of secondary school. In England and Wales it is also possible to study a programme for conversion to the legal profession following completion of a previous undergraduate degree unrelated to law (the Graduate Diploma in Law), which entitles graduates to take the vocational courses for entry into the legal profession. Master's courses are also offered to unversity graduates, those who graduate from such courses are entitled to use the initials LL.M.
The programme of study for the common law LL.B. can be either a graduate-entry degree programme requiring a previous bachelors degree (the duration of which is usually three years) or can be undertaken directly after high-school either by itself (the duration of which is usually four years) or with another degree (i.e., B.Comm/LL.B., B.A./LL.B., or B.Sc./LL.B., the duration of which can vary between five and seven years, depending on the specific combination).
Additionally, most top universities have started offering the J.D as a graduate entry degree in order for J.D graduates to be competitive in the international legal market.
Like other Common Law countries, Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree is a condition precedent to practise as an Advocate in the Courts of Law of Bangladesh. Both LL.B. and LL.B. (Hons.) degrees are offered in different Public and Private Universities. Only five Public Universities offer LL.B. (Hons.) degree. These Universities are-the University of Dhaka,Jagannath University, the University of Rajshahi, the University of Chittagong, the Islamic University of Kustia. All these Universities also offer one-year LL.M. course. Private Universities like ASA University Bangladesh, Premier University Chittagong,Stamford University,BRAC University, Bangladesh Islami University(Saydabad,Maniknagar near to motijheel ),Uttara University, Green University of Bangladesh, Eastern University, South East University, University of Asia Pacific,Dhaka International University , Northern University Bangladesh, BGC Trust University Bangladesh,Southern University Chittagong, World University of Bangladesh,University of Information Technology & Sciences (UITS), also offer LL.B. (Hons.) degree (four years) and one-year LL.M. course.Some private universities like Southern University, South East University also offer two years LL.B. degree to the graduates of subjects other than Law . Besides, the National University of Bangladesh also offers two-years LL.B. degree to the graduates of subjects other than Law through some Law Colleges.
Canada has a dual system of laws. In the province of Quebec, a system of civil law is used. At the federal level, as well as in every province or territory except Quebec, a system of common law is used. Because of this, there are two Canadian law degrees generally in use.
The programme of study for the common law LL.B. is second-entry, undergraduate, professional degree, and now completely replaced by the J.D. by all Canadian common law schools. While the degree awarded is at the first-degree level and admission may be granted to applicants with two or three years of undergraduate studies towards a degree, in practice the programme generally requires completion of a previous undergraduate degree before registration in that programme. In fact, almost all admitted law students hold at least a bachelor level degree, and a significant number hold a graduate level degree as well. As a result, there is an increasing trend for Canadian law schools to switch a Juris Doctor degree in recognition of the profession second-entry nature of Canadian legal studies. (See Juris Doctor in Canada)
The common law programme is three years in length. Upon graduation, one holds a Bachelor of Laws degree, but cannot yet practise law. To practise law, the graduate must obtain a license from the Law Society of the province where he/she wishes to practise law, which also requires a year of articling (see Becoming a Lawyer below). Those law graduates wishing to become law professors instead of lawyers often obtain a more advanced academic degree, such as the Master of Laws (LL.M.) or the Doctor of Laws (LL.D, S.J.D or D.C.L).
The civil law programme in Canada is three years in length. The programme of study for the first degree in Quebec civil law (called LL.B., B.C.L. or LL.L.) is a first-entry degree programme. Like other first-entry university programmes in Quebec it requires a CEGEP diploma for entry.
Law schools that offer civil law B.C.L., LL.B., or LL.L. degrees include McGill University, Université de Montréal, Université de Québec à Montréal, Université de Sherbrooke, Université Laval and the University of Ottawa.
Because of Canada's dual system of laws, some law schools offer joint or dual degrees of common law and civil law. McGill University, Université de Montréal and the University of Ottawa are law schools that offer such degrees.
The law degree offered by McGill University is a mandatory joint common law LL.B. / Quebec civil law B.C.L. degree. The programme is four years in length. Admission to that programme is a first-entry programme in the case of Quebec students (as the CEGEP diploma is required) while it is a second-entry programme in the case of students from other provinces (since two years of university studies is required - effectively one extra year of studies more than for a CEGEP diploma). The University of Ottawa offers a civil law degree (LL.L.) on its own.
A number of Canadian law schools offer students the opportunity to earn, besides their three-year first degrees in common law, programmes in common law for holders of baccalaureate degrees in Quebec civil law enabling those individuals to earn the LL.B. in common law in two or three semesters, depending on the offering university's program. Similarly, the University of Ottawa offers, besides its three-year LL.L. program in Quebec civil law, a one-year LL.L. program in Quebec civil law for holders of an LL.B. or J.D. degree in common law from a Canadian law school.
Additionally, some Canadian universities with common law law schools have an arrangement with a Canadian university with a Quebec civil law law school enabling students to obtain the home school's law degree in three years and the exchange school's law degree in the fourth year.
In India, legal education has been traditionally offered as a three-year graduate degree conferring the title of LL.B. (Bachelor of Laws) or B.L. (Bachelor of Law). However the legal education system was revised by the Bar Council of India, the governing body of legal education in India in 1984. Pursuant thereto, various autonomous law schools were established that administer a five-year undergraduate degree programme and confer an integrated honours degree, such as "B.A., LL.B. (Honours)", "B.B.A, LL.B. (Honours)", "B.Sc., LL.B. (Honours)", etc.
Both the types of degrees (i.e., three-year and five-year integrated honours) are recognized and are also qualifying degrees for practise of legal profession in India. A holder of either type of degree may approach a Bar Council of any States of India and get upon compliance with the necessary standards, be enrolled on the rolls of the said Bar Council. The process of enrollment confers a license to the holder to practise before any court in India and give legal advice. The entire procedure of enrollment and post-enrollment professional conduct is regulated and supervised by the Bar Council of India.
As a commonwealth country, the Malaysian legal education system is rooted from the United Kingdom. Legal qualifications offered by the local law faculties require students to have a pre-university qualification higher than the high school Malaysian Certificate of Education (which is equivalent to the O Level) such as A-Levels, the Malaysian Higher School Certificate, foundation programme or diploma. Generally, the Bachelor of Laws in Malaysia consists of civil law subjects, but there are institutions such as Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws (International Islamic University Malaysia) and Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin that include Sharia or Islamic law courses as requirements for graduation.
Legal qualifications in Malaysia can be divided into four types. The first type is the Bachelor of Laws (Hons) or LL.B (Hons) programme offered by the universities. All universities which offer the LL.B (Hons) programme, with the exception of Universiti Teknologi MARA had their students to undergo a minimum of four (4) years of full time study.
The second type is the programmes offered by the Faculty of Law, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). UiTM offers a three (3) year degree programme known as the Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons) or BLS (Hons). The second type is the programmes offered by the Faculty of Law, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). UiTM offers a three (3) year degree programme known as the Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons) or BLS (Hons). Upon completion of the BLS (Hons) programme, the students can choose either to work as legal advisors / legal executives but they are not fully qualified to apply to be advocates and solicitors.[22] If they choose to practice as advocates and solicitors, they have to be vetted and short-listed to pursue with a one year LL.B (Hons) programme because the student allocation is limited. Those who are not short-listed may sit for the Certificate in Legal Practice examination or re-apply after gaining working experience. The LL.B(Hons) programme from UiTM is unique in the country in which the students are put in a simulated legal office environment in which they are designated in firms and given case studies.[23] The programme is designed after the Inns of Court in England.
The third type is the Bachelor of Jurisprudence (Hons) or B.Juris (Hons) from the University of Malaya (UM).[24] It is a three (3) year degree programme taught externally at private institutions but B.Juris (Hons) may also be awarded to University of Malaya's students who can't or choose not to proceed to the fourth and final year of the LL.B (Hons) programme.[25] B.Juris (Hons) is equivalent to Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons) from UiTM. It is a popular alternative to LL.B (Hons) from University of London International Programme. Upon completion of the programme, the students need to sit for the Certificate in Legal Practice examination in order to practice law.
The fourth type is the LL.B (Hons) from shortlisted universities from the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia. There are private institutions in Malaysia that offer such LL.B (Hons) programme through twinning arrangements. Students may opt either to do their degree two (2) years in Malaysia and the final one (1) year at the foreign universities (2+1) or one (1) year in Malaysia and two (2) years at the foreign universities (1+2). The LL.B (Hons) from the University of London International Programme is the only recognised foreign degree that can be fully completed at the local private institutions. Upon graduation, the graduates need to sit for the Certificate in Legal Practice examination before they are allowed to read in chambers.
In order for the graduates to be eligible as advocates and solicitors, they need to read in chambers for nine months before being called to the Bar.
The Bar Council has been advocating a Common Bar Course and Examination (CBE) since the 1980s as a single entry point to the legal profession for both local and foreign law graduates.[26]
Pakistan is a common law country and to become a lawyer in Pakistan, one needs law degree usually called LL.B from recognised Pakistani or common law country universities. Lawyers in Pakistan are called advocates. An advocate has to be member of one of the provincial Bar Councils, i.e., Punjab Bar Council, Sindh Bar council, Baluchistan Bar Council or the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council to practice as an advocate.
The following universites are authorised to award law degrees in Pakistan:[27]
In South Africa [1] [2][3] the LLB is offered both at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. As of 1996 it is the universal and only legal qualification for legal practice, replacing the existing BIuris and BProc degrees. [4] The undergraduate programme, offered since 1998, requires four years of study. At the postgraduate level, the programme requires three years. A two year programme is offered to students with "Law" as a major in their bachelor's degree: several South African universities offer B.A. and BCom degrees with a major in Law. Some universities offer a one year programme designed for holders of the BProc degree.[5]
The curriculum is typically structured around preliminary, core / intermediate and advanced courses.[6] Most universities also offer elective coursework at the advanced level. The preliminary courses acquaint the students with both the background and the foundations of the South African legal system, and with legal thinking and analysis in general. The core subjects equip the students for a career in the legal profession, [7] while the advanced courses comprise further study in these core courses, completing the degree. The electives allow students to specialise in a particular area of law, to an extent, by choosing from a range of optional courses. Some universities also require that students complete an experience based course ("Practical Legal Studies"); a credit comprising independent research exclusively is often offered as an elective, and at some universities is a degree requirement.[8] The completion of courses in Latin was previously a requirement for the degree, but has been discontinued. Similarly, in many cases, Roman Law was previously a core course, and is now offered as an elective.
The undergraduate LLB may depart from this structure. Depending on university, the curriculum will comprise legal subjects exclusively,[9] or may include humanities subjects so as to prepare graduates with a "broad-based" legal education.[10] Credits in English and Afrikaans are also often included.[11]
See also: Legal education and Legal education in the United Kingdom
Upon completion of the LL.B. degree (or its equivalent), graduates are generally qualified to apply for membership of the bar or law society. The membership eligibility bestowed may be subject to completion of professional exams. A student may have to gain a further qualification at postgraduate level, for example a traineeship and the Legal Practice Course or Bar Vocational Course in England and Wales or the Postgraduate Certificate in Laws in Hong Kong.
In Australia some LL.B. graduates practice as a solicitor or barrister, while others work in academia, for the government or for a private company (i.e. not as a practicing solicitor). For LL.B. graduates who do choose to practice law, in some states of Australia (namely, Victoria and New South Wales), LL.B. graduates are required to undertake a one-year articled clerkship or the Legal Practice Course (Commonly Practical Legal Training or PLT) before applying for registration as a solicitor. In other states, (namely, South Australia) a LL.B. graduate is required to undertake a six-week PLT course before applying to be admitted to the bar as a barrister and solicitor. Depending on the State to which a practitioner is admitted, membership of the Bar is either restricted to Barristers, or open to both Solicitors and Barristers. In the states that maintain membership of the bar as a separate and distinct role to that of a practicing solicitor, entry is attained through the successful completion of an exam and a nine-month period of tutelage (the reading period) under a senior Barrister.
In Canada, the lawyer licensing process usually requires the law graduate to 1.) take further classroom law courses, taught by the law society itself, and pass a set of written examinations, commonly referred to as bar exams, related to the taken courses and 2.) complete articled clerkship commonly known as articling. Although the vast majority of law graduates fulfill the articled clerkship requirement by articling (i.e. working and learning) in a law firm, a government's legal department, a corporation's (in house) legal department, a community legal clinic or some other type of non-profit organization involved in legal work, a small minority of law graduates (with exceptional academic records) satisfy the articled clerkship requirement by undergoing what is commonly called clerkship with a specific courthouse and under the supervision of a judge instead of working in a more "lawyer-type environment" under the supervision of a lawyer called a "principal". In either articling or clerkship, there is the expectation that the law graduate will work in a variety of legal fields and be exposed to the realities of legal practice that are absent from law school's academic atmosphere.
In the province of Ontario, for example, the licensing process for the Law Society of Upper Canada (Ontario's governing law society) consists of three mandatory components: The Skills and Professional Responsibility Program with assignments and assessments, Licensing Examinations (a Barrister Licensing Examination and a Solicitor Licensing Examination), and a 10-month Articling term.[12]
At the conclusion of the licensing process, the law graduate is "called to the bar" whereby he/she signs his/her name in the Rolls of the Court of Appeal for Ontario and the Superior Court of Justice[28] and swears lawyer-related oaths in a formal ceremony where he/she must appear in a complete barrister's gown and bow before judges of the local superior court and benchers of the licensing law society. After the call ceremony, he/she can designate him/herself as a "Barrister and Solicitor", and can practice law in the province in which they are licensed. In Ontario and other provinces, licensed lawyers may also exercise the powers of a Commissioner of Oaths. In the Province of British Columbia, licensed lawyers are automatically permitted to practice the powers of a Notary Public. In Ontario and other provinces, a licensed lawyer must submit a form and pay a one-time fee to the provincial attorney general before he/she is appointed as a Notary Public.
Although not required by the licensing process, many first- and second- year law students work in law firms during the summer off-school season to earn extra money and to guarantee themselves an articling position (with the same law firms) upon their graduation from law school, because there is always fierce competition for articling positions, especially for those in large law firms offering attractive remuneration and prestige, and a law graduate cannot become a licensed lawyer in Canada if he/she has not gone through articled clerkship.
The four universities under the National University of Ireland (NUI) umbrella, award the degree of Bachelor of Civil Law (B.C.L.). These are University College Cork, University College Dublin, NUI Maynooth and NUIG. Six (four in the republic) Irish universities (Trinity College Dublin; NUIG; The Queen's University of Belfast; the University of Limerick, National University of Ireland, Maynooth[29] and the University of Ulster) award an LLB. University College Cork and NUIG offer the LLB as an 1 year postgraduate course for holders of the BCL degree.
Two English universities (University of the West of England and Nottingham Trent University) and one Welsh university (University of Wales) award the LL.B. in Ireland as a basic professional degree in law (the latter three are run via local private colleges). (Independent Colleges LL.B(Hons) in Irish Law is conferred by the University of the West of England, LL.B(Hons) in Irish Law at Dublin Business School is jointly validated by HETAC and the University of Wales and the LL.B. in Griffith College Dublin and Griffith College Cork is jointly validated by HETAC and Nottingham Trent University.)
It should be noted, though, that Ireland is a common law jurisdiction (in fact there are two common law jurisdictions on the island) and the expression "civil law" is used to differentiate common law from ecclesiastical law or Canon Law in the republic. In the past NUI B.C.L. graduates who went to work in Britain sometimes didn't disabuse people of the casual notion that it was a post-graduate degree, similar to the more famous Oxford B.C.L.
In the nineteenth century the University of London conferred degrees of LL.B. on clerical and lay students at St. Patrick's College, Carlow from 1840 onwards.[30] The King's Inns Barrister-at-Law degree BL is a postgraduate degree required to practice as a Barrister in Ireland.
At the University of Zimbabwe, the first degree in common law is the Bachelor of Law (B.L.), which is equivalent to the LL.B. in other common law jurisdictions. It is followed by a one-year programme at the university (analogous to post-LL.B. vocational programmes in other common law jurisdictions) at the end of which a second degree, the Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.), is awarded. The curriculum has since been changed and now only one four-year honours degree is offered abbreviated as LL.Bs [13]
In Pakistan, to get admission in LL.B. degree course in any state university, one should have a bachelor's degree in any discipline. Before 1992, LL.B degree course was of two years but now it is a three-year programme. Nowadays some colleges offering five years LL.B programme. In Punjab, and Sindh Muslim Govt. Law College Karachi, for example, a five-year joint B.A./LL.B. degree is being offered by Punjab University and Karachi University. Actually it is a three-year LL.B program that includes two years of graduation studies (Graduation degree is usually awarded after fourteen years of full-time education). After obtaining an LL.B. degree, a person wishing to practise has to intimate the respective Provincial Bar Council that he is starting a one year training/articleship under the supervision of a senior advocate who has a ten year standing as an advocate. After the completion of the articleship/pupillage, he will be asked to take a Bar admission test that consists one multiple choice questions/written test and a viva-voce (by a panel of Bar Council members). These days the University of London external programme has widely attracted many potential candidates who wish to pursue a career in Law in Pakistan.
Some universities in the United Kingdom and New Zealand offer variations of this degree, such as the LL.B. (Europe), which generally take four years to complete and include a wider range of topics as well as some degree of specialisation.
Various universities in the United Kingdom and Australia will allow a degree that combines study with a non-law discipline. For example, some universities in the United Kingdom offer a combined study of law and history leading to a B.A. degree that is accepted by the Law Society and Inns of Court as equivalent to an LL.B.
The University of London External Programme in Laws (LL.B.) has been awarding its law degree via distance learning since 1858. The LL.B. awarded by the University of London External Programme is of the same standard and quality irrespective of the mode or manner of learning.
At various universities in the UK such as Oxford, Nottingham and Cambridge the principal law degree is often a B.A., in either Jurisprudence or Law. The B.C.L and LL.M are second-entry and postgraduate degrees. The University of Cambridge has recently replaced their LL.B. degree with an LL.M.
Some universities in the UK including Bournemouth University have a four-year LL.B. course, which consists of a 40-week industrial work placement.[31] Staffordshire University also offer a two-year full-time LL.B. course.[32]
A unique degree of LL.B.(Hons) Sharia and Law has been introduced by the International Islamic University, Islamabad. The distinctive feature of this course is the comparative study of both Islamic law and Common law.
For the most part, foreign law graduates seeking admission to the bar in the United States will find their LL.B. law degree does not of itself fulfill the core admission requirements of most states, thereby not allowing them to take the bar exam.
The major exception to this is New York, where those foreign graduates who have fulfilled the educational requirements to practice law in another common law country through study at an approved educational institution, similar in both duration and content to the equivalent teaching at an approved U.S. law school, are permitted to sit for the bar exam.[33] Additionally, both New York and Massachusetts permit Canadian LL.B. holders to take the bar exam.[34] The requirements of each of the states vary, and in some states sufficient years of practice in one's home country may allow for those otherwise excluded to sit for the bar exam. Interested applicants should check the requirements of each state bar association carefully as requirements vary markedly.
Most states require completion of a law degree from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association. As a result, American law schools typically offer one-year LL.M. programs for foreign attorneys; many such law schools may have no other LL.M. programs. Classes included in these "American Law" "Comparative Law" inter alia LL.M. programmes are selected to introduce foreign attorneys to American-style common law practice, such as first-year J.D. courses on civil procedure, Constitutional law, criminal law, legal research and analysis, and jurisprudence.
European Union law permits European Union citizens with LL.B. degrees from Ireland or the UK, who practise law in one of these countries for three or more years, to practise also in every other member state. The actual procedure to receive the respective national licence is regulated by the member state and therefore differs from country to country, but every EU member has to apply the relevant EU Directives to its own national law.
As a consequence of the Bologna process, recently many universities of applied sciences and few traditional universities in Germany have introduced LL.B. programs, replacing the Diplom-Wirtschaftsjurist degree. The LL.B. is a three- or four-year full-time study law degree. As opposed to courses of study leading to the State Examination - the masters-level professional law degree in Germany - most LL.B. degree programs concentrate on private law and can feature a component of education in business administration. Graduates of LL.B. courses can continue LL.M. studies, and in exceptional cases sit for the first State Examination after one or more years of additional law studies in order to qualify for practicing law in Germany.
In Malta, the Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree, offered by the University of Malta, is an undergraduate degree that of itself is not sufficient for admission into any of the legal professions.
In Denmark, universities now offer three-year LL.B. programs, although this is not sufficient to practice law. Students wishing to practice law should continue with a Masters in Law program, leading to the cand.jur degree. Alternatively, students may choose to use the LL.B. as a basis for other courses with in the social sciences or humanities.
There are also conversion courses available for non-law graduates, available as an alternative to the full-length LL.B. degree course. One such example of a conversion course in England and Wales is the GDL (Graduate Diploma in Law), which takes one year to complete.
In the UK, as well as in other Common Law jurisdictions, the main approach to this, is the Graduate Entry (undergraduate) LL.B. degree, where graduates from another discipline can complete the LL.B. as a second degree, although this may occasionally require taking qualifying law courses within the first degree to meet professional requirements in full. Therefore it is not entirely correct to regard it as an 'accelerated' degree.
This 'double degree' system was, at one time, an alternative route to the former B.L. degree (now obsolete) but students were required to have independent means to complete the second degree. The current Scots LL.B. degree, a direct-entry undergraduate degree, meets all professional requirements when coupled with the Diploma in Legal Practice. The Diploma was introduced circa 1980; prior to this, all professional exams were taken within the degree itself (or as part of an earlier non-law degree), limiting the scope for academic study.
Therefore the pursuit of the double degree nowadays, for school-leavers at least, is mainly to indicate that one can be adept at two disciplines. Unlike Joint Honours, a second degree is undertaken separately, within the prescribed timeframe. The first non-law degree will almost invariably be an arts degree although science or other degrees are not unknown. Rarely, the double degree principle is found in reverse; just as an arts or science degree can provide exemption from the full academic (not professional) requirements of a subsequent law degree, similarly a law degree can provide exemption from the full academic requirements of a subsequent arts or science degree. In this case, it is more likely that the second degree will be taken as a self-funding mature student, possibly on a part-time basis.
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