Structure of LL.B. programmesHistorically, 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.
Common law countries generally
In most common law countries (with the exception of Canada, the U.S.), the Bachelor of Laws programme is generally entered directly after completion of secondary school, but some universities in Britain also offer the programme as an accelerated (shorter duration), second-entry programme for the LL.B. following completion of a previous undergraduate degree.
in Australia The programme of study for the common law LLB can be either a graduate-entry degree programme requiring a previous bachelors degree or can be undertaken directly after high-school either by itself (the duration of which is usually 4 years) or with another degree (ie. BComm/LLB or BSc/LLB), the duration of which can vary between 4-7 years depending on the specific combination
in 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 graduate-entry degree programme. 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.
The common law programme is three years in length. Upon graduation, one holds a Bachelor of Laws degree, but cannot yet practice law. In order to practice law, the graduate must obtain a license from the Law Society of the province where he/she wishes to practice law, which also requires a traineeship. (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#Canada (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. College-University law schools
Alternative titles and formats
Irish B.C.L.
Three of the four universities under the National University of Ireland (NUI) umbrella, award the degree of Bachelor of Civil Law (B.C.L.). These are UCC, UCD and NUIG. Five (three in the republic) Irish universities (Trinity College Dublin; NUIG; The Queen's University of Belfast; the University of Limerick, and the University of Ulster), one English university (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 two are run via local private colleges). NUIG therefore, awards both. 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 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.
Zimbabwe B.L. and LL.B.
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.
In Pakistan, a person going for an LL.B. degree should have a bachelor's degree. Most law students choose to obtain a two year bachelor degree before enrolling for an LL.B. degree in a law college. The LL.B. itself is a three year programme. In Punjab, a five year joint B.A./LL.B. degree is being offered by law colleges.
After obtaining an LL.B. degree, a person wishing to practise has to intimate the concerned Bar Council that he is undergoing a six month training period under the supervision of a High Court lawyer with ten year standing. After he completes the pupillage, he will be asked to take a written test and undergo a viva-voce exam.
Variations on the LL.B.
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, and Cambridge the principal law degree is a B.A., in either Jurisprudence or Law respectively; the B.C.L. and LL.B. are second-entry postgraduate degrees. The University of Cambridge has recently replaced their LL.B. degree with an LL.M.
European Union
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.
Recently many universities in Germany have introduced LL.B. degrees as part of the Bologna process.The LL.B. is a three or four year full-time study law degree. Some students pursue the LL.M. after pursuing the LL.B. The LL.B. in Germany covers all classes which are also required for the First State Exam and requires some additional courses as well as an original Bachelor thesis. A credit point system is used for the LL.B. degree. In order to obtain the LL.B. students have to pass different sorts of exams, write an LL.B. thesis and collect more academic credits than needed for the First State Exam. The LL.B. degrees satisfies the educational requirements to sit for the German State Exam (German Bar Exam) and the practice of law. The LL.B. is a cornerstone to the future of law practice 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.
Alternative to a law degree in England or Alternative degree route in Scotland
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 so-called Graduate Entry (undergraduate) LL.B. degree, where graduates from another discipline can complete the LL.B. in two years, 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.