Legal education in Norway

rdf:langString Legal education in Norway

rdf:langString Legal education in Norway refers to a graduate professional degree that qualifies the holder for the legal profession, that includes advocates (barristers), judges and other professions that lawyers have a legal monopoly on. Norway has a united and regulated legal profession where all lawyers hold the same professional degree obtained after an integrated 5-year (formerly 6-year) university programme, that gives the right to use the legally protected title lawyer (Norwegian: jurist). Norway's legal system and education share many similarities with those of Denmark due to the countries' common history. The traditional purpose of legal education is to educate advocates, judges, prosecutors as well as senior civil servants and diplomats; however many lawyers go on to work in other professions, including the corporate sector. The only universities permitted to offer a professional legal degree are the University of Oslo, the University of Bergen and the University of Tromsø, and the program is one of the most competitive university programmes at any Norwegian university, and particularly at the University of Oslo. A professional legal degree is a generalist education that offers a broad introduction to different legal fields, such as contract law, torts, family law, constitutional law, administrative law, procedural law, criminal law, European law, human rights and international law. Currently the degree requires four years of mostly mandatory subjects, and a final year consisting of a master's thesis or a master's thesis and elective courses. Prior to 2004–2007, students were awarded a Candidate of Law (cand.jur.) degree; the name of the degree was then changed to Master of Laws (master i rettsvitenskap). Both degrees are often translated as JD, LL.M. in English, where the first four years are regarded as equivalent to an American JD while the final year(s) is considered to correspond to an LL.M. Only about 30% of Norwegian lawyers are advocates, i.e. called to the bar, and admission is dependent on having a specific position usually as a trainee advocate for a fixed period of time. Many lawyers work in the civil service and the corporate sector. All lawyers in Norway have the right to offer legal advice to clients, and all lawyers may appear in court with permission from the court regardless of whether they are advocates.