Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviatedBCL orB.C.L.;Latin:Baccalaureus Civilis Legis) is the name of various degrees inlaw conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities ofOxford andCambridge; at Oxford, the BCL continues to be the primary postgraduate taught course in law. It is also taught as an undergraduate degree in other countries. The reference to civil law was not originally in contradistinction tocommon law, but tocanon law, although common law was not taught in the civil law faculties in either university until at least the second half of the 18th century. However, some universities in English-speaking countries use the degree in theformer sense.
AtOxford, the Bachelor of Civil Law degree is a taught postgraduate degree inEnglish law, occupying a similar position as theMaster of Laws (M.L. orLL.M.;Latin:Magister Legum orLegum Magister) programmes of other British universities, but specifically for Common Law degree holders. Students with Civil Law degrees following the same programme are awarded the degree ofMagister Juris (commonlyMJur). Oxford claims that the BCL is "the most highly regarded taught masters-level qualification in the Common Law world".[1] The course differs from many LLM programmes insofar as it provides not only seminar and lecture-format teaching, but also the intensive small-group tutorials that characterizeOxbridge's undergraduatetutorial system.[2] The principal mode of assessment for the BCL and MJur is end-of-year examinations held in Oxford'sExamination Schools, after the end ofTrinity term.[2] The degree is either an overall "pass" or an overall "distinction", the latter requiring more than 70 marks in two or more of the four courses, and not less than 60 in any of the courses. TheVinerian Scholarship is awarded to the student deemed to have the best overall performance on the BCL; examples of past Vinerian Scholars include theLaw LordsLord Hoffmann,[3]Lord Edmund-Davies andLord Saville.
Historically, the BCL was established as the lower degree in Oxford's Faculty of Civil Law, the higher degree being theDoctor of Civil Law. The Faculty of Civil Law was so named to distinguish it from the faculty ofCanon Law which was abolished in both universities byKing Henry VIII in 1535. In the 16th century, it generally took three years to study for the BCL if the student had previously obtained aMaster of Arts degree at Oxford (and one additional year if his degree was from Cambridge). It was, however, possible to enter the Faculty of Law directly after matriculation as a 'Student in Civil Law', without even aBachelor of Arts (BA) first. In this case, it took four to six years to take the BCL.[4] From the 1850s, the BCL could only be taken by those who had an Oxford BA, but at the end of the 19th century the course was restructured: While it was still possible for Oxford BAs to complete it in one year, graduates from other universities were also admitted to the BCL, though as a two-year taught degree course.[5] This dual structure was still in place in the 1960s,[6] but at least since 1991, the BCL has been a one-year course both for graduates from Oxford, and elsewhere. In 1991, the MJur was introduced as a degree in European and Comparative Law. Around 2000, this was reshaped into a degree with the same structure and papers as the BCL, but for graduates from non-Common Law backgrounds.[7]
The syllabus consisted entirely ofRoman Civil Law until the establishment of theVinerian Professorship of English Law in 1758. Undergraduate examinations in law were not established until 1850, with the separate BA undergraduate 'Honour School of Jurisprudence' being established in 1872. Before 1960, there were seven papers, of which six were compulsory: 'Jurisprudence', the 'Roman Law of Ownership and Possession', the 'Roman Law of Condictiones', 'Common Law' (comprising the general principles of contract, torts, and crime), 'Equity', and 'Conflict of Laws'. The optional paper was to be chosen from either the 'Law of Evidence', the 'Law of Negotiable Instruments', specified topics in Public International Law, or the 'Roman-Dutch Law of Testamentary and Intestate Succession'.[6] In 1960, the syllabus was changed to six papers, of which four were compulsory: 'Common Law' (as above), the 'Roman Law of Ownership and Possession', 'Equity', and 'Conflict of Laws'. The two optional papers were to be chosen from either the 'Development of Modern Jurisprudence', the 'Roman Law of Condictiones', the 'Law of Evidence', 'Criminal Law and Penology', 'Public International Law', 'Roman Dutch Law', 'Legal History: the Legislation of Edward I', 'Administrative Law', or the 'Comparative Law of Matrimonial Causes'.[8] For non-Oxford graduates, there was a preliminary examination after the first year.[9] Presently, four papers can be chosen from a wide range of options.
Theacademic dress for both BCL and MJur graduates consists of the lay faculties' masters' gown with a hood of steel blue silk, half lined and bound with white rabbit fur.
The Faculty of Civil Law in Cambridge was renamed the Faculty of Laws after the teaching of English Common Law was introduced in the 19th century. The initial postgraduate degree in the faculty became theBachelor of Laws degree (LLB, orLL.B.;Latin:Legum Baccalaureus), before being retitled LLM in the 20th century in order to clarify its status as a postgraduate degree. The BCL degree inDurham University is now also titled LLM. Within the UK, only the law faculty at Oxford has retained the older nomenclature.
Before it was renamed in 1969 as the LLB, the bachelor's degree in Common Law conferred by Canada'sUniversity of New Brunswick was known as the Bachelor of Civil Law.[10]
Until replaced by theJuris Doctor (JD, orJ.D.) in 1967, the Bachelor of Civil Law was the degree granted by the first law school in theUnited States, theWilliam & Mary School of Law founded in 1779.
The BCL degree is also a standard law degree inIreland. It is awarded by constituent universities of theNational University of Ireland, such asUniversity College Cork,University College Dublin and theNational University of Ireland, Galway andNational University of Ireland, Maynooth. The BCL degree is also offered byDublin City University.[11] Other Irish universities, including theUniversity of Limerick and theTrinity College Dublin, award the LLB. degree. The LLB is offered at postgraduate level byUniversity College Cork,NUI, Galway, and theUniversity of Limerick also.
Thelegal system in Canada principally adopts the English Common Law legal tradition in all provinces and territories, excludingQuebec. For historical reasons, Quebec has a hybrid legal system born of its French-heritage in civil law. As a result, universities in Quebec (and others wishing to offer degrees suitable for practitioners in Quebec) must provide training in both Civil and Common Law.
AtMcGill University, the bachelor's degree in QuebecCivil Law is called the BCL, to distinguish it from the first degree in Common Law (i.e., the JD, formerly the LLB) offered by that same university. Graduates earn both degrees concurrently after three to four years of study.
TheUniversity of Ottawa, although located inOntario, also offers abaccalaureate degree in Quebec Civil Law, which it styles the Licentiate of Laws (LLL orLL.L.;Latin:Legum Licentiatus), to distinguish it from the first degree in Common Law (i.e., the LLB, now renamed JD) offered by that same university.
The other universities in Quebec that offer a baccalaureate degree in Quebec Civil Law (Université de Montréal,Université du Québec à Montréal,Université Laval andUniversité de Sherbrooke) call it an 'LL.B.' (French:baccalauréat en droit) though, in the past, the degree atUniversité de Montréal and Université Laval was styled as 'LL.L.'.
These bachelor's degrees in Quebec Civil Law are a first-entry degree programme which, like other first-entry university programmes in any discipline in Quebec, require acollege diploma for entry. Except in the cases of both Ottawa and McGill, they are three years in length. The Common Law LLB and Quebec Civil Law LLL are combined in programmes offered by both the University of Ottawa, and McGill University. McGill offers a "transystemic program" of 105 credits. Students can choose to complete the curriculum in 3, 3.5, or 4 years. Admission to the McGill programme can be a first-entry programme, in the case of Quebec students (30 students every year are admitted straight out of college while others still need an undergraduate degree even if they are from the Province of Québec), though it is a second-entry programme in the case of students from other provinces (as three to four years of university studies is required, effectively at least two extra years of study more than for a college diploma).
While the baccalaureate degree in Quebec Civil Law is theterminal professional degree for entry into the bar admission programme of theBarreau du Québec, a candidate for entry into the training programme of theChambre des notaires du Québec must, after that baccalaureate degree, go on to obtain a Diploma of Notarial Law through graduate study (Diplôme de deuxième cycle en droit notarial) fromUniversité de Montréal, Université Laval,Université d'Ottawa, orUniversité de Sherbrooke: requiring two semesters of full-time study. AtUniversité de Montréal, by completing two additional graduate-level law classes and doing a directed studies paper, the student may also earn an LLM in Notarial Law, in addition to the Diploma.
TheLouisiana Civil Code requires legal practitioners in the state to have education in both Civil Law, and Common Law, and necessarily sets it apart from otherjurisdictions in the U.S.
ThePaul M. Hebert Law Center on the campus ofLouisiana State University in the U.S. confers on the graduates of its law program a combined Juris Doctor / Diploma of Civil Law (styledD.C.L. orDCL) in view of the Louisiana Civil Law components of the program. The DCL (which was awarded as a BCL for those classes graduating in the 2003–06 academic years) reflects the 15 added credit hours of legal study in Civil Law, and comparative international law, in addition to that which is required for achieving the standard JD. The additional course hours, which are roughly equal to one additional semester of study, are generally achieved through a combination of taking summer course offerings, on campus or abroad, as well as via one or more other available routes offered by the Law Center.[12]