Bachelor of Civil Law

Postgraduate degrees

The modern BCL: Oxford

At Oxford, the Bachelor of Civil Law degree is a taught postgraduate degree in English law, occupying a similar position as the Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: Magister Legum or Legum 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 of Magister Juris (commonly MJur). Oxford claims that the BCL is "the most highly regarded taught masters-level qualification in the Common Law world". 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 characterize Oxbridge's undergraduate tutorial system. The principal mode of assessment for the BCL and MJur is end-of-year examinations held in Oxford's Examination Schools, after the end of Trinity term. 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 fewer than 60 in any of the courses. The Vinerian Scholarship is awarded to the student deemed to have the best overall performance on the BCL; examples of past Vinerian Scholars include the Law Lords Lord Hoffmann, Lord Edmund-Davies and Lord Saville of Newdigate.

Historically, the BCL was established as the lower degree in Oxford's Faculty of Civil Law, the higher degree being the Doctor of Civil Law. The Faculty of Civil Law was so named to distinguish it from the faculty of Canon Law which was abolished in both universities by King Henry VIII in 1535. In the 16th century, it generally took three years to study for the BCL if the student had previously obtained a Master 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 a Bachelor of Arts (BA) first. In this case, it took four to six years to take the BCL.

From the 1850s until the end of that century, the BCL could only be taken by those who had an Oxford BA. 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. This dual structure was still in place in the 1960s, but at least since 1991, the BCL has been a one-year course for graduates both from Oxford and elsewhere. In 1991, the MJur was introduced alongside the BCL, 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.

The syllabus for the BCL consisted entirely of Roman Civil Law until the establishment of the Vinerian 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', 'Roman Law of Ownership and Possession', 'Roman Law of Condictiones', 'Common Law' (comprising the general principles of contract, torts, and the criminal law), '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'. In 1960, the syllabus was changed to six papers, of which four were compulsory: 'Common Law' (as above), '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', 'Roman Law of Condictiones', 'Law of Evidence', 'Criminal Law and Penology', 'Public International Law', 'Roman Dutch Law', 'Legal History: the Legislation of Edward I', 'Administrative Law', or 'Comparative Law of Matrimonial Causes'. For non-Oxford graduates, there was a preliminary examination after the first year. Presently, four papers can be chosen from a wide range of options.

The academic 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 historical BCL: Elsewhere

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 the Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB, or LL.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 in Durham 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's University of New Brunswick was known as the Bachelor of Civil Law.

Until replaced by the Juris Doctor (JD, or J.D.) in 1967, the Bachelor of Civil Law was the degree granted by the first law school in the United States, the William & Mary School of Law founded in 1779.