Detail from thesarcophagus of Roman jurist Valerius Petronianus (315–320)
Ajurist is a person with expert knowledge oflaw; someone who analyzes and comments on law.[1][2] This person is usually a specialistlegal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (alaw degree) and often alegal practitioner.
In the United Kingdom the term "jurist" is mostly used for legal academics, while in the United States the term may also be applied to a judge.[3] With reference toRoman law, a "jurist" (in English) is a jurisconsult (iurisconsultus).[4]
The English termjurist is to be distinguished from similar terms in other European languages, where it may be synonymous withlegal professional, meaning anyone with a professional law degree that qualifies for admission to the legal profession, including such positions as judge or attorney. InGermany,Scandinavia and a number of other countriesjurist denotes someone with a professional law degree, and it may be a protected title, for examplein Norway. Thus the term can be applied to attorneys, judges and academics, provided that they hold a qualifying professional law degree.[5] In Germany – the term "full jurist" is sometimes used informally to denote someone who has completed the two state examinations in law that qualify for practising law, to distinguish from someone who may have only the first state examination or some other form of legal qualification that does not qualify for practising law.
