Doctor of Law - By Country - Brazil

Brazil

In Brazil, the Doctor of Laws degree, known in Portuguese as Doutor em Direito or Doutor em Ciências Jurídicas, is the highest academic degree in law available.

In some of the country's most important universities there is a higher title known as Livre docência, like the habilitation in some European countries. However, this higher title is not a degree in the strict sense, because "livre docência" nowadays is an internal title, that applies solely within the institution granting it.

In the past, "livre docência" was a degree in the fullness of the term, and a professor bearing the title would enjoy the privileges of "livre docência" if he transferred from one institution to another; there are still living professors who hold the "old" livre docência degrees; but all new titles of that name only confer privileges within the institution granting it.

The doctoral degree is awarded upon the completion and the successful defense of a thesis prepared by the doctoral candidate under the supervision of a tutor. The thesis must be examined by a board of five professors, holders of the title of doctor or of a "livre docência". Two of the members of the board must be professors from another institution. In most Brazilian Law Schools, the candidates are also required to earn a minimum number of credits.

Unlike the rules of other countries, the Brazilian norms governing the grant of doctoral titles do not require the publication of the thesis as a precondition for the award of the degree. Nevertheless, copies of the thesis must be delivered to the institution's library. Usually, doctoral thesis are published by specialized editors after the grant of the doctoral title.

If one obtains a doctoral title in a foreign country, one cannot enjoy the academic privileges of the title in Brazil unless the title be first validated by a Brazilian University. In that case, the doctor asking for the validation of the title will present his thesis and other documents relating to his foreign doctoral course to a board examiners of the Brazilian University and the examiners will then pass judgement on whether the work done by the candidate adheres to the minimum standards of quality that are usually required by a Brazilian university when granting doctoral degrees.

Admission to doctoral courses is almost universally reserved to holders of a Master's degree (the Master's in Brazil is a graduate degree and is not the first professional degree). Therefore, a bachelor of Laws (a bearer of the first professional degree), seeking the degree of doctor must usually complete a postgraduate course to attain the degree of Master of Laws (to attain that degree one must write and defend a dissertation before a panel of three professors, bearing the title of master, doctor or a "livre docência, and also complete credits), and only then, after being a Master of Laws, one will apply for admission to a doctoral course.

There are, however, a few universities that allow "direct" admission to the doctoral course without previous completion of the Master's course in exceptional circumstances. Thus, in rare cases, a bachelor of Laws (i.e., a holder of the first professional degree), can be admitted directly to a doctoral course.

Usually, one is allowed three years time to complete a Master of Laws degree, and four years time to complete the doctoral course. So, if one were to graduate from Law School and immediately enter a Master of Laws course and a Doctor of Laws course in immediate succession, that person would become a doctor about seven years after graduating from the Law School. On the other hand, in the rare cases in which a bachelor of Laws is allowed to pursue a "direct" doctorate, he is usually allowed five years time to complete the doctoral course.

Unlike the Master of Laws dissertation, the Doctoral Thesys must contain an original contribution to the field of Law under study.