Doctor of Law - By Country - Germany

Germany

The Doctor of Laws (Doktor der Rechte) is the terminal degree in law, abbreviated as Dr. iur. (Doctor iuris) or Dr. jur. (Doctor juris). The terminology varies: while most universities refer to the degree as Doctor of Laws (Doktor der Rechte (pl.), e.g. Munich, Münster, Berlin (HU), Cologne, Tübingen, Göttingen), some others refer to it either as Doctor of Jurisprudence (Doktor der Rechtswissenschaft, e.g. Heidelberg) or Doctor of Law (Doktor des Rechts (sg.), e.g. Berlin (FU)). It is conferred based on a thesis consisting of a suitable body of original academic research, and an oral examination (rigorosum or disputation). The thesis must have been published as a book or - less common - as a series of articles in a peer reviewed law journal before the degree can be formally conferred. Admission usually requires the grade of "Fully Satisfactory" (approximately top quintile of class) in the student's first Staatsexamen (the Master's level first professional degree). Having successfully passed the second Staatsexamen (the German equivalent to the bar exam) is not required.

The Doctor of Both Laws (Doktor beider Rechte), awarded as Dr. iur. utr. (Doctor iuris utriusque, conferred e.g. in Würzburg) is rare, since it means considering both Civil Law and Canonical Law. A doctorate solely in the latter area is the degree of Dr. iur. can. (Doctor iuris canonici).

Approximately ten percent of German law graduates hold a doctoral degree. However, the Doctor of Laws is still only the first step to tenure at German law schools. Despite the initiative to establish a junior professorship with tenure option after five to seven years, and special professorships specializing in teaching (Lehrprofessur), to become a university professor of law a habilitation (de iure not an academic degree) is still mandatory at most German law schools.