Doctor of Canon Law

Doctor of Canon Law (Latin: Juris Canonici Doctor; J.C.D.) is the doctoral-level terminal degree in the studies of canon law of the Roman Catholic Church.

It may also be abbreviated I.C.D. or dr.iur.can. (Iuris Canonici Doctor), ICDr., D.C.L., D.Cnl., D.D.C., or D.Can.L. (Doctor of Canon Law). Doctor of both laws (i.e. canon and civil) are J.U.D. (Juris Utriusque Doctor), or U.J.D. (Utriusque Juris Doctor).

A doctorate in canon law normally requires at least two years of additional study and the development and defense of an original dissertation that contributes to the development of canon law after having earned the degree Licentiate of Canon Law. Only pontifical universities and ecclesiastical faculties of canon law may grant the doctorate or licentiate in canon law.

The Licentiate of Canon Law is a three-year degree, the prerequisite for the study of which is normally the graduate level bachelor of sacred theology (S.T.B.), a master of divinity (M.Div.), a master of arts in Roman Catholic theology (M.A.), or a civil law degree (J.D. or LL.B.) and a bachelor degree in canon law (J.C.B.) or its relative equivalent.

While not a civil law degree, the doctor of canon law is in some ways comparable to the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D.) or doctor of laws (LL.D.) in terms of academic level of study as they are terminal academic degrees.

Members of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, Auditors of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota, judicial vicars, ecclesiastical judges, defenders of the bond, and promoters of justice, must possess either a doctorate or license in canon law. Either of the degrees is recommended for those who serve as vicar general or episcopal vicar in a diocese. Candidates for bishop must either possess the doctorate in canon law or the doctorate in sacred theology or be truly expert in one of those fields. Canonical advocates must possess the doctorate or be truly expert.

The Roman Church has the oldest continuously used homogenous legal system in the world. Following the Gregorian Reform's emphasis on canon law, bishops formed cathedral schools to train the clergy in canon law. Consequently, many of the medieval universities of Europe founded faculties of canon law (e.g., Cambridge and Oxford). Since the Protestant Reformation, however, they became limited to those universities which retained Catholic faculties (e.g., Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum), Gregorian University, Catholic University of Louvain, Faculty of Canon Law "S. Pio X" in Venice). Other Catholic universities with ecclesiastical faculties in canon law were subsequently given the ability to grant the degree (e.g., The Catholic University of America, University of Saint Paul). The University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines, has been awarding the degree since 1734.