The full form of LLB is Legum Baccalaureus, also known as Bachelor of Laws.
LLB (Bachelor of Laws) is a professional undergraduate degree in law that typically takes three to four years to complete. It is a program that prepares students for a career in the legal profession and provides them with a comprehensive understanding of legal systems, theories, and practices. The curriculum covers subjects such as criminal law, civil law, international law, human rights law, contract law, property law, and more. Upon completion of the program, graduates are equipped with the knowledge and skills required to pursue a variety of careers in the legal field, including working as a lawyer, judge, legal adviser, or paralegal. In some countries, LLB graduates must also pass a bar exam or complete further legal training in order to become licensed practitioners.
History of LLB
The LLB degree, which stands for Bachelor of Laws, is a professional undergraduate program that focuses on providing students with a comprehensive understanding of the legal system. The abbreviation is derived from the genitive plural legum, which means “of laws”, and is often referred to as “Bachelor of Legal Letters”. The degree originated at the University of Paris and was later adopted by Oxford and Cambridge.
In the past, the study of law was not meant to prepare students for a legal career, but rather to provide philosophical and scholarly knowledge. The training for practicing common law in England was conducted through apprenticeships with individual practitioners. However, with the lack of standardization, universities played an important role in the education of lawyers in the English-speaking world.
In England, the training of lawyers began in 1292 when students would observe court proceedings and eventually hire professionals to lecture them. Over time, the Inns of Court system emerged and became a kind of specialized university. With the increase in demand for lawyers during the Crusades, the study of common law gained importance.
Oxford and Cambridge initially did not consider common law as a worthy subject of study, but the apprenticeship program for solicitors was established by an act of parliament in 1729. William Blackstone became the first lecturer in English common law at Oxford in 1753, but the lectures were philosophical and theoretical in nature.
In 1846, the Parliament reviewed the education and training of prospective barristers and found it to be inadequate compared to legal education in the United States. This led to the establishment of formal schools of law, but the bar did not initially require a university degree. When law degrees became a requirement, the LLB became the uniform degree for lawyers in common law countries.
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