Licentiate of Canon Law

This article is part of the series:
Legislation and Legal System of the Catholic Church Legal history of the Catholic Church
Codifications 1983 Code of Canon Law Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches 1917 Code of Canon Law Corpus Juris Canonici The Apostolic Constitutions Decretum Gratiani Decretist Regulæ Juris Decretals of Gregory IX Decretalist Extravagantes Liber Septimus Nomocanon Collectio canonum quadripartita Collectio canonum Quesnelliana Collectio canonum Wigorniensis Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals
Apostolic constitutions Anglicanorum Coetibus Benedictus Deus (Benedict XII) Benedictus Deus (Pius IV) Ex Corde Ecclesiae Fidei Depositum Indulgentiarum Doctrina Pastor Bonus Sacrae Disciplinae Leges Universi Dominici gregis
Motu proprio Ad tuendam fidem Mysterii Paschalis Pontificalis Domus Summorum Pontificum Tra le sollecitudini
Canon law of Vatican II Lumen gentium Sacrosanctum Concilium Gaudium et spes Dei verbum
Matrimonial law Affinity Banns of Marriage Declaration of Nullity Matrimonial Nullity Trial Reforms of Pope Francis Defender of the Bond Disparity of Cult Impediment of crime Matrimonial Dispensation Natural Marriage Pauline privilege Petrine privilege ratum sed non consummatum
Tribunals & canonical structures Tribunal System Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura Tribunal of the Roman Rota Apostolic Penitentiary Judicial Vicar/Officialis Auditor Defender of the Bond Personal Ordinariate Personal Prelature
Theory Derogation Dispensation Ecclesiastical positive law Excommunication Fundamental Theory of Canon Law Indult Impediment Interpretation Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts Internal forum Latae Sententiae Censure Resignation of the Roman Pontiff Sede vacante Vacatio legis Valid but illicit
Other Canon 915 Canon 1324 Canon 1398 Eastern Canonical Reforms of Pius XII
Canon Law Task Force

Licentiate of Canon Law [Latin: Juris Canonici Licentia (J.C.L.)] is the title of an advanced graduate degree with canonical effects in the Roman Catholic Church offered by pontifical universities and ecclesiastical faculties of canon law. Licentiate is the title of a person who holds an academic degree called a license.

Licentiate programs in canon law involve a study of the whole corpus of canon law in the Roman Catholic Church, understood in terms of its theological, philosophical, and historical background, and the method and practice of scholarly scientific research. Consequently, experts in canon law have a comprehensive understanding of the nature of law specifically in the life of the Church.

The usual prerequisites for a license in canon law are that a candidate must have the bachelor of sacred theology degree (S.T.B.), master of divinity degree (M.Div.), master of arts (M.A.) degree in Roman Catholic theology, or juris doctor (J.D.) degree and a bachelor's degree in canon law (J.C.B.) or its relative equivalent. In order for a candidate to obtain the licentiate of canon law, he or she must complete a six-semester, that is, three year, program of canonical studies, pass a comprehensive oral examination before a jury of faculty members, and write a thesis on a particular theme that demonstrates the student's ability to function professionally in the field.

The license in canon law is required for a person to teach canon law in a pontifical university or Catholic seminary. The license is also the prerequisite to the doctorate (J.C.D.) in the same field. Furthermore, the degree is a prerequisite for several officers of Catholic ecclesiastical courts: judges (including the judicial vicar), the Promoter of Justice, and the Defender of the Bond all must at least possess this degree.

Notable faculties which offer the license in canon law include: the Pontifical Lateran University (Lateranum, also known as "The Pope's University"), the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum); the Pontifical Gregorian University (Gregorianum), the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (Santa Croce), the Pontifical Urban University (Urbanianum), the University of Navarra in Pamplona, The Catholic University of America, Saint Paul University in Canada, the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines, the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium, the Institut Catholique de Paris, the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster in Germany and the Faculty of Canon Law "S. Pio X" in Venice of Studium Generale Marcianum.