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Doctor of Laws (Latin: Legum Doctor, LL.D.) is a doctorate-level academic degree in law. Plural abbreviations in Latin are formed by doubling the letter, hence the double "L".

Contents 1 By Country 1.1 Brazil 1.2 Canada 1.3 European and Commonwealth usage 1.4 Germany 1.5 Czech Republic and Slovak Republic (former Czechoslovakia) 1.6 Malta 1.7 United States 1.8 Italy 2 See also 3 References

In Brazil, the Doctor of Laws degree, known in Portuguese as Doutor em Direito or Doutor em Ciências Jurídicas is the highest academic degree in law available. The degree is awarded upon the completion and the successful defense of a thesis prepared by the doctoral candidate. In most Brazilian Law Schools, the candidates are also required to earn a minimum number of credits.

The appelation of a doctorate in law in Canada depends on the institution. Of the nine universities in Canada that offer doctorates in law, four (University of Ottawa, University of Montreal, Laval University, and University of Quebec at Montreal) offer LL.Ds, two (University of British Columbia and University of Victoria) offer Ph.Ds, two (University of Toronto and Dalhousie University) offer S.J.D degrees, and one (McGill University) offers a D.C.L (Doctor of Civil Law). The differences largely reflect the divide between Canada's two legal systems (the common law and the civil law). Faculties that teach in the civil law tradition grant LL.D degrees, whereas those in the common law tradition grant either Ph.Ds or S.J.Ds.

In the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe, the degree is a higher doctorate usually awarded on the basis of exceptionally insightful and distinctive publications that contain significant and original contributions to the study of law. Some universities, such as the University of Oxford, award a Doctor of Civil Law degree instead. In South Africa, the LL.D. is awarded by many university law faculties as the highest degree in law, also based upon research and completion of a Ph.D. equivalent dissertation like in most European countries. The LL.D. may also be awarded as an honorary degree based upon a person's contributions to society.

In Germany the Doctor of Law (observe the singular) is the advanced degree in law (the basic degree being a succesfully passed first Staatsexamen) awarded as Dr. iur. (Doctor iuris) based on a dissertation. It usually requires the grade of Fully Satisfactory in the student's first Staatsexamen though having successfully passed the second Staatsexamen (the german equivalent to the bar exam) is not required. Only

The Doctor of Laws (now note the plural), awarded as Dr.iur. utr. (Doctor iuris utriusque) is almost extinct, since it means considering both Civil Law and Canonical Law. A doctorate solely in latter area is the degree of Dr. iur. can. (Doctor iuris canonici).

The Doctor of Law is still only the first step to tenure in German Law. Despite the initiative to establish a junior professor, to become a university professor of law a habilitation is still mandatory.

In Czech Republic and Slovak Republic the Doctor is a postgraduate degree awarded as JUDr. (Juris utrisque doctor) based upon research and completion of a dissertation. This dissertation differs from a Ph.D. dissertation in its lesser time and work (approx. 2 - 3 years for full time candidates, 5 years for PhD). The PhD is chosen by candidates interested in an academic career since it comprises the capacity for teaching at universities.

In Malta, the European Union's smallest member state, the LL.D. is a doctorate-level academic degree in law requiring at least six years (three for the LL.B. and 3 for the LL.D) of full time study at the University of Malta[1], Malta's national university. Students are required to complete coursework in a number of core areas of law, as well as to submit a thesis which is to be "an original work on the approved subject or other contribution to the knowledge showing that he/she has carried out sufficient research therein" [2]. It confers the title of Doctor, which in Malta is rigorously used to address a holder of the degree. The LL.D. is one of the requirements for admission to the profession of advocate in Malta (an advocate, as opposed to a legal procurator, has rights of representation in superior courts), but it is also the highest degree usually obtained by faculty members teaching law, and is the highest degree held by the University of Malta[3] law faculty's current dean, Prof. Dr. Ian Refalo.

In Malta, practising lawyers are of three designations – notaries, legal procurators and advocates. A one-year full time taught post-graduate diploma of Notary Public (N.P.) is required for admission to the profession of notary public, while a taught post-graduate diploma of Legal Procurator (L.P.) is required for admission to the profession of legal procurator. A legal procurator is a lawyer in Malta that has rights of audience in the lower courts, a profession that was existent in Malta as early, and even prior to 1553[4]. The Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree, also offered by the university, is an undergraduate degree that of itself is not sufficient for admission into any of the legal professions. All three professions also require members to be holders of a warrant issued by the President of Malta, obtainable after a minimum of one year of work experience in that profession, and examination. It is not possible for a Maltese lawyer to hold a warrant in more than one of the professions at a time.

Notable holders of the LL.D. degree include Dr. Guido de Marco (former President of the United Nations General Assembly and former President of Malta), Dr. George Borg Olivier (first post-independence Prime Minister of Malta), and Dr. Lawrence Gonzi (current Prime Minister of Malta).

Some students go one step further and obtain a Masters Degree in a specialised subject. One example is the Magister Juris degree - an advanced programme offering candidates the opportunity to obtain an internationally recognised specialisation degree in either International Law or (the currently more relevant) European and Comparative law. Only a handful of students go this far and it is the highest level an academic can achieve other than a Ph.D. (which is mainly sought after by scholars). Entry requirements for these masters programmes are high with the lowest requirement being a second-class degree in the LL.B or else the LL.D degree itself (which has no average).

The Doctor of Juridical Science, J.S.D. (or S.J.D.), sometimes awarded as Doctor of the Science of Law, is the highest law degree awarded in the United States. Because of its rarity, most law schools in the United States accept the LL.B. or the J.D. degree as the basic entrance qualification for law school teaching. Laws schools that place an emphasis on legal scholarship have more professors holding advanced law degrees such as the LL.M. or the J.S.D./S.J.D.

In Italy, "Doctor of Law" is the title given to anybody who graduates from university having completed a normal course of undergraduate studies. These can be compared to the British Bachelor of Laws degree.

• Juris Doctor (J.D.)
• Master of Laws (LL.M.)
• Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.)
• Doctor of Canon Law

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