Doctor of Juridical Science, Doctor of the Science of Law, (in Latin) Scientiae Juridicae Doctor or Juridicae Scientiae Doctor (sometimes also referred to as a Doctor of Laws), abbreviated S.J.D. or J.S.D., respectively, is a research doctorate in law^[1] equivalent to the more commonly awarded research doctorate, the Ph.D.^[2][3] It is offered primarily in the United States (where it originated), and in Canada and Australia. As a research doctorate, it follows professional training in law (LL.B. or J.D.) and the first graduate degree in law (Master of Laws). It is primarily aimed at educating professors, legal scientists, and other scholars in law.

Australia

The S.J.D. is offered by the Australian National University,^[4]Bond University,^[5]La Trobe University,^[6] the University of Canberra,^[7] the University of New South Wales,^[8] the University of Sydney,^[9] the University of Technology Sydney,^[10] and the University of Western Australia.^[11] It was once offered by the Queensland University of Technology.^[12]

United States

The J.S.D., or S.J.D. is a research doctorate, and as such it is generally accepted as equivalent to the more commonly awarded research doctorate, the Ph.D.^[13] It is considered the "most advanced law degree" by Duke Law School,^[14]Berkeley Law,^[15]Harvard Law School,^[16]Yale Law School,^[17]NYU Law,^[18]Stanford Law,^[19]UCLA School of Law,^[20]Washington University School of Law,^[21]George Washington University Law School,^[22]UIUC Law School.^[23] According to Indiana University^[24] it is the "terminal degree in law". The National Association of Legal Professionals states that the J.S.D./S.J.D. is "the most advanced (or terminal) law degree that would follow the earning of the J.D. and LL.M. degrees."^[25]

Applicants for the program must have outstanding academic credentials.^[26] A first degree in law (such as a J.D. or LL.B.) is required, as well as an LL.M..^[27] Exceptions as to the latter condition (i.e. holding an LL.M.) are seldom--if ever--granted.^[28]

The J.S.D. typically requires three to five years to complete.^[28][29] The program begins with a combination of required and elective coursework. Then, upon passage of the oral exam, the student advances to doctoral candidacy. Completion of the program requires a dissertation, which serves as an original contribution to the scholarly field of law.^[30]

Notable recipients of the degree of Doctor of Juridical Science include:

• Sang-Hyun Song (Cornell Law School, 1970), President of the International Criminal Court (ICC)
• Harvey L. Strelzin (New York University, 1906), New York State Assembly member and professor at New York University.^[31]
• Charles Hamilton Houston (Harvard, 1923), prominent civil rights attorney^[32]
• Lowell Turrentine (Harvard, 1929), prominent professor of law at Stanford University^[33]
• Justice Bernard Jefferson (Harvard, 1934), renowned legal scholar and appellate court^[34]
• Pauli Murray (Yale, 1965), prominent civil rights advocate^[35]
• Ayala Procaccia (University of Pennsylvania, 1972), Israel Supreme Court Justice
• John Cencich (Notre Dame Law School, 2008), Professor and former senior United Nations war crimes investigator at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at The Hague.
• Christos Rozakis (University of Illinois, 1973) (President of the Administrative Tribunal of the Council of Europe and former vice-president of the European Court of Human Rights)
• Ma Ying-jeou (Harvard, 1980), President of the Republic of China
• Theodor Meron (Harvard Law School), professor of law (New York University) and president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
• Hanoch Dagan, (Yale Law School, 1993), Stewart and Judy Colton Professor of Legal Theory and Innovation and former Dean of Tel Aviv University Faculty of Law, Justin D'Atri Visiting Professor of Law at Columbia University^[36]
• Katherine Franke (Yale Law School, 1998), Sulzbacher Professor of Law, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Columbia University; Director, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law at Columbia Law School; Faculty Director, The Law, Rights, and Religion Project at Columbia Law School^[37]
• W. Michael Reisman (Yale Law School 1965), Myres S. McDougal Professor of International Law at Yale Law School^[38]
• Lucian Bebchuk (Harvard Law School 1984), William J. Friedman and Alicia Townsend Friedman Professor of Law, Economics, and Finance Director, Program on Corporate Governance, Harvard Law School.^[39]

See also

• Doctor of Law
• Legum Doctor (Doctor of Laws) (LL.D.)
• Juris Doctor (J.D.)
• Master of Laws (LL.M.)
• Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.)
• Doctor of Canon Law (J.C.D.)

Notes and references