Licentiate of Canon Law

Licentiate of Canon Law (J.C.L.) is the title of an intermediate graduate degree with canonical effects in the Catholic Church offered by pontifical universities and ecclesiastical faculties of canon law.

Licentiate programs in canon law involve a study of the whole corpus of Church law, understood it in terms of its theological, philosophical, and historical background, and the method and practice of scholarly scientific research. Consequently, experts in canon law have a classical education with a comprehensive understanding of the nature of law especially in the life of the Church.

The usual prerequisites for a license in canon law are that a candidate must have the bachelor of sacred theology degree (S.T.B.) master of divinity degree (M.Div.), master of arts (M.A.) in Catholic theology, or juris doctor (J.D.) and a bachelor's degree in canon law (J.C.B.) or its relative equivalent. In order for a candidate to obtain the licentiate of canon law, he or she must complete a six-semester, that is, three year, program of canonical studies, pass a comprehensive oral examination before a jury of faculty members, and write a thesis on a particular theme that demonstrates the student's ability to function professionally in the field.

The license in canon law is required for a person to teach canon law in a pontifical university or seminary. The license is also the prerequisite to the doctorate (J.C.D.) in the same field. Furthermore, the degree is a prerequisite for several officers of Catholic ecclesiastical courts: judges (including the judicial vicar), the promoter of justice, and the defender of the bond all must at least possess this degree.

Notable faculties which offer the license in canon law include the Catholic University of America, Saint Paul University in Canada, the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum); the Pontifical Gregorian University (Gregorianum), the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (Santa Croce), the Pontifical Urban University (Urbanianum), the Pontifical Lateran University (Lateranum), the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium, the Institut Catholique de Paris and the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.