Social:Doctor of Juridical Science

Short description: Terminal research doctoral degree in law

Not to be confused with Juris Doctor, the professional qualifying degree for practicing law.

A Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD; Latin: Scientiae Juridicae Doctor), or a Doctor of the Science of Law (JSD; Latin: Juridicae Scientiae Doctor)_, is a terminal research doctorate degree in law that is equivalent to a Ph.D. degree. In most countries (including the United States), it is the most advanced law degree that can be earned, higher than both a Juris Doctor (J.D.) and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.).

Australia

The SJD is offered by the Australian National University, Bond University, La Trobe University, the University of Canberra, the University of New South Wales, the University of Technology Sydney, and the University of Western Australia.

The University of Sydney stopped accepting new applications for an SJD in 2018.

Canada

In Canada, the JSD or SJD is offered at University of Toronto Faculty of Law and the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University. Other law schools in Canada still offer a PhD in law as the terminal degree.

Italy

In Italy, the title of Doctor of Juridical Science (dottore in scienze giuridiche) is awarded to holders of a Degree in Juridical Sciences (laurea in scienze giuridiche, EQF level 6), while Magistral Doctor of Juridical Sciences (dottore magistrale in scienze giuridiche) is awarded to holders of a Magistral Degree in Juridical Sciences (laurea magistrale in scienze giuridiche, EQF level 7).

Instead, the terminal degree for law, is the research doctorate (PhD, dottorato di ricerca), awarding the title of Research Doctor (dottore di ricerca).

United States

The JSD, or SJD, is a research doctorate, and as such, in contrast to the JD, it is equivalent to the more commonly awarded research doctorate, the PhD. It is the most advanced law degree.

In 1910, Harvard Law School became the first American law school to offer the SJD/JSD. The first student to obtain a Doctor of Juridical Science was Eldon Revare James, who entered Harvard in 1911, and obtained his SJD in 1912. Other law schools, including Yale, N.Y.U., Michigan, and Columbia, followed suit. Between 1910 and World War II, most law students who earned the SJD/JSD in the United States were Americans preparing to become law professors. However, after World War II, the SJD/JSD fell out of popularity with American law students, but became increasingly more attractive to foreign students seeking proficiency in American law. For example, in the 1950s, 155 American students earned the SJD/JSD, 110 Americans earned it in the 1960s, and only 65 Americans received the degree in the 1970s. But foreign law students earned two-thirds of the American SJD/JSDs in the 1970s. In the 1980s, only 25% of American SJD/JSDs were awarded to American law students. Today, American scholars rarely earn the SJD/JSD. Most scholars who complete the JSD/SJD at American universities are international students seeking employment in their home countries. Many foreign SJD/JSD students are already lawyers in their home countries, and are seeking to further advance their careers.

Applicants for the program must have outstanding academic credentials. A professional degree in law (such as a JD) is required, as well as an LLM. Exceptions as to the latter condition (i.e., holding an LLM) are seldom—if ever—granted.

The JSD/SJD typically requires three to five years to complete. 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.

Notable recipients

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

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• Shirley Abrahamson (University of Wisconsin, 1962), Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
• Dionysia-Theodora Avgerinopoulou (Columbia, 2011), member of the Hellenic Parliament
• Lucian Bebchuk (Harvard, 1984), Professor, Harvard Law School.
• Larissa Behrendt (Harvard, 1998), Australian legal academic, writer, filmmaker and Indigenous rights advocate.
• Daniil Bessarabov, member of the Russian State Duma
• Daniel Boorstin (Yale, 1940), American historian
• Bajrakitiyabha (Cornell, 2005), Thai princess
• Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud (Harvard, 1986), The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India
• Francis Mading Deng (Yale, 1968), South Sudanese diplomat
• Henry H. Fowler (Yale, 1933), United States Secretary of the Treasury
• Katherine Franke (Yale Law School, 1998), Professor, Columbia Law School
• Erwin Griswold (Harvard, 1929), United States Solicitor General
• William H. Hastie (Harvard, 1933), first African-American United States federal judge
• Rosalyn Higgins (Yale, 1962), English judge and president of the International Court of Justice
• Charles Hamilton Houston (Harvard, 1923), prominent civil rights attorney
• Bruce Jacob (Harvard, 1980), Dean of Stetson University College of Law, counsel in Gideon v. Wainwright
• Lai In-jaw (Harvard, 1981), former President of the Judicial Yuan (Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court) of the Republic of China
• Jose P. Laurel (Yale, 1920), President of the Philippines
• Salvador Laurel (Yale, 1960), Vice President of the Philippines, Prime Minister of the Philippines
• Robert A. Leflar (Harvard, 1932), law school dean, Arkansas Supreme Court justice
• Edward H. Levi (Yale, 1938) President of University of Chicago, US Attorney General
• Ma Ying-jeou (Harvard, 1980), former President of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
• Mark MacGuigan (Columbia, 1961), member of the House of Commons of Canada
• Henry Manne (Yale, 1966), law professor, one of the founders of the discipline of Law and economics
• Theodor Meron (Harvard, 1957), professor of law (New York University School of Law) and president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
• Joseph Wilson Morris (University of Michigan, 1955), dean of the University of Tulsa College of Law, United States federal judge
• Wayne Morse (Columbia, 1932), United States Senator from Oregon
• Pauli Murray (Yale, 1965), prominent civil rights advocate
• Peter Mutharika (Yale, 1969), president of the Republic of Malawi
• Russell D. Niles (Yale, 1931), Dean of New York Universit School of Law
• Shigeru Oda (Yale, 1953), Japanese judge for the International Court of Justice
• Andrew Phang (Harvard, 1987), Judge of Appeal, Supreme Court of Singapore
• James A. Pike (Yale, 1938), Episcopal bishop
• Navanethem Pillay (Harvard, 1988), UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
• L. Welch Pogue (Harvard, 1927), Chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board
• Robert Pozen (Yale, 1973), vice chairman and president of Fidelity Investments
• Ayala Procaccia (University of Pennsylvania, 1972), Israel Supreme Court Justice
• John W. Reed (Columbia, 1957), Dean of the University of Colorado Law School
• 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
• Jovito Salonga (Yale, 1949), President of the Senate of the Philippines
• Lobsang Sangay (Harvard, 2004), former President of the Central Tibetan Administration and professor of law at Harvard University
• Miriam Defensor Santiago (Michigan, 1976), Senator of the Philippines and Judge of the International Criminal Court
• Derek Schmidt (University of Kansas, 2015), United States Representative from Kansas
• Allan F. Smith, Dean of the University of Michigan Law School
• Sang-Hyun Song (Cornell Law School, 1970), President of the International Criminal Court (ICC)
• Rennard Strickland, law professor, Dean, President of the Association of American Law Schools
• Wesley Alba Sturges, Dean of Yale Law School
• Symeon C. Symeonides (Harvard, 1980), Dean of Willamette University College of Law
• Robert F. Turner (University of Virginia, 1996), law professor, first president of the United States Institute of Peace
• Paul R. Verkuil (New York University, 1972), president of the American Automobile Association
• Mastin Gentry White (Harvard, 1933), Judge on the United States Court of Federal Claims
• Xue Hanqin (Columbia, 1995), U.N. International Court of Justice judge

• Gilberto Concepción de Gracia

• Norman St John-Stevas

• Janet Albrechtsen

• Thomas Buergenthal

• Surakiart Sathirathai

• Paul Demaret

• Hassan Wirajuda

• Bernard Zylstra

• Frances Olsen

• George Chaponda

• Roberto Mangabeira Unger

• Upendra Baxi

• Henry M. Hart Jr.

• Nir Kedar

• Brian Z. Tamanaha

• I. Beverly Lake Sr.

• Francis Bowes Sayre Sr.

• Liana Fiol Matta

• Menachem Mautner

• John N. Hazard

• Stephen M. Sheppard

• Thomas Fitzpatrick (Queens)

• George Marion Johnson

• Rosalyn Higgins, Lady Higgins

• Nabil Elaraby

• Porfirio Muñoz Ledo

• Morris C. Shumiatcher

• Jorge Carpizo McGregor

• Zhou Dan

• Mathew Tobriner

• Dmitry Medvedev

• Louis B. Sohn

• Joe Oloka-Onyango

• Julius Stone

• Mayo Moran

• Ernest L. Wilkinson

• Mohamed Munavvar

• John J. Marchi

• Ernest W. Gibson Jr.

• Matthew Palmer

• Adila Hassim

• Rodney K. Smith

• Ann Aldrich

• W. Page Keeton

• Neelan Tiruchelvam

• Thomas Gardiner Corcoran

• Mortimer Caplin

• Maung Maung

• James C. Hathaway

• Ricardo Lorenzetti

• Robert E. Scott

• Reynato Puno

• Benjamin V. Cohen

• Rene Cayetano

• Charles E. Rice

• Pierre Lellouche

• Norman Adrian Wiggins

• John T. Fey

• Joaquin Bernas

• Tony La Viña

• Feisal al-Istrabadi

• Kristine Jarinovska

• Robert Keeton

• John S. D. Tory

• Bessie Margolin

• Richard A. Falk

• José Trías Monge

• Daniel Nsereko

• Lama Abu-Odeh

• Joseph Tyree Sneed III

• Witalis Ludwiczak

• Paul A. Freund

• Ivor Richardson

• Priscilla Leung

• Willard L. Boyd

• Uriel Reichman

• Lisa M. Schenck

• Juliane Kokott

• Stephen Waddams

• Myres S. McDougal

• Vikramaditya Khanna

• Edward F. Sherman

• Markus U. Diethelm

• A. Andrew Hauk

• Willis William Ritter

• Harold Montelle Stephens

• Walter Emanuel Treanor

• Lauritz Lauritzen

• Makau Mutua

• David Bennett (barrister)

• Kiddu Makubuya

• Mark Berry (lawyer)

• Thomas M. Franck

• Edith Fisch
• Esther Mayambala Kisaakye

• A. N. Yiannopoulos

• Robert Araujo

• Arturo Zaldívar Lelo de Larrea

• Hilary Charlesworth

• Asifa Quraishi

• Covey T. Oliver

• Natalia Petkevich

• Wang Junfeng

• Harry Shulman

• Edward D. Re

• Daphne Barak-Erez

• Luzius Wildhaber

• Clyde Summers

• Ronen Avraham

• Alexander Lowen

• David Kershaw

• Allen Loughry

• Jody Freeman

• Eyal Benvenisti

• Joseph Gold (lawyer)

• Baik Tae-ung

• Orly Lobel

• Spencer L. Kimball

• Wang Yu-chi

• He Jiahong

• Frank C. Newman

• Robert Leckey

• Oleg Krassov

• S. K. B. Asante

• Edward J. Damich

• Jerome Prince (legal scholar)

• Chen Changwen

• Stretch Kontelj

• Radoslav Procházka

• Henri Temple

• Seymour R. Thaler

• Wissanu Krea-ngam

• Russell Brown (judge)

• Huang Kuo-chang

• George C. Christie

• Sean D. Murphy

• Sven Spengemann

• Gillian Lester

• Liang Su-yung

• Yeh Jiunn-rong

• Thomas Mensah (lawyer)

• Ted de Boer

• Huang Kuo-chung

• Kao Su-po

• Antony Anghie

• Heath Tarbert

• Norma Lucía Piña Hernández

• George Triantis

• Zvi Gabbay

• Jo Carrillo

• Zahara Nampewo

• Jacobus tenBroek

• Sheilah Martin

• Jeffrey Addicott

• Wayne LaFave

• Ruth Halperin-Kaddari

• Yuji Iwasawa

• Myma Belo-Osagie

• Ofer Grosskopf

• Joseph Dainow

• Markus Gehring

• Simon Kagugube

• Akilagpa Sawyerr

• Alexander Vershinin

• Aguedo Mojica

• Cho Kuk

• Artur Baghdasaryan

• C. Raj Kumar

• Lulzim Tafa

• Jeanine Áñez

• Dimitar Vachov

• Leora Bilsky

• Morris S. Arnold

• Vjosa Osmani

• Fu Kun-cheng

• Alexandra Phelan

• Zbigniew Rau

• Joseph R. Houchins

• Anja Seibert-Fohr

• María Elósegui

• Ksenija Turković

• Wilber G. Katz

• Mohammad Ali Asfanani

• Nimer Sultany

• Cheluchi Onyemelukwe

• Gedion Timothewos

• Geraldo Brindeiro

• Alter Tsypkin

• Florence Ashley

• Winifred Kiryabwire

• Samuel García (politician)

• Rangita de Silva de Alwis

• Nolly C. Buco

• Timothy McEvoy

• Eric Wu

• Susan Hurley

• Lai In-jaw

• Manley Ottmer Hudson

• Ayala Procaccia

• Peter Tuen-Ho Yang

• Chiang Wan-an

• Su Chiao-hui

• Chao Shou-po

• Chang Tien-chin

• Levi Ying

• Ruth Okediji

• Anu Bradford

• Lo Chang-fa

• Chen Shih-yung

• Abdullah Al-Ouda

• Michael Fakhri

• Marcelo Nubla

• Ken Randall (legal scholar)

• Michele Goodwin

• Christian Nwachukwu Okeke

• Quintin Johnstone

• Chen Lung-chu

• Rodolfo Delgado (lawyer)

• Li Gui-min

• Simona Grossi

• Khadicha Sulaimanova

• Chang Wen-chen

• Petre Pandrea

• Paul Paton (legal scholar)

• John Henry Merryman

• Gerry W. Beyer

• Charles H. Norchi

• Chen Chun-han

• Hwang Jau-yuan

• Helena Alviar Garcia

• Hungdah Chiu

• Vladimir Ovchinsky

• Manuel García-Mansilla

• Ethel Frances Donaghue

• Gail E. Henderson

• Adesegun Akin-Olugbade

• Rick Sarre

• Ya-Wen Lei

See also

• Doctor of Law
• Legum Doctor (Doctor of Laws; LLD)
• Juris Doctor (JD)
• Master of Laws (LLM)
• Bachelor of Laws (LLB)
• Doctor of Canon Law, Catholic Church (JCD)