In Taiwan, law can be studied in an undergraduate program resulting in a Bachelor of Law (LL.B.) or a postgraduate degree resulting in a Masters of Law (LL.M.). Some LL.M. programs in Taiwan are offered to students with or without a legal background. However, the graduation requirements for students with a legal background are lower than for those students who do not have a legal background (to account for fundamental legal subjects that were taken during undergraduate studies). Students studying in an LL.M. program normally take three years to earn the necessary credits and finish a master’s thesis. Ph.D. degrees are also offered in the area of law.
Students in law school receive academic rather than practical training.[1] Practical training is arranged only after the individual passes the lawyer, judge or prosecutor exams.
According to the National Taiwan University College of Law:[1]
First year
Constitutional law
Civil Code - General Principle I
Criminal Code - General Principles I
Civil Code - General Provisions of Obligations
Second year
Civil Code - General Provisions of Obligations II
Civil Code - Kinds of Provisions of Obligations
Civil Code - Property
Civil Code - Family and Succession law
Criminal Code - General Principles II
Criminal Code - Kinds of Offenses
Administrative Law
Legal History
International Law
Third year
Civil Procedure
Criminal Procedure
General Principles of Business Law & Corporation Law
Insurance Law
Law of Negotiable Instruments
Maritime Law
Jurisprudence
Fourth year
Conflict of Laws
Fifth year
Some law schools in Taiwan have a five-year LL.B. program to incorporate courses with specialties into their curriculum. Soochow University School of Law, for example, is well known for its five-year LL.B. program featuring Anglo-American law and comparative legal studies.
Lo Chang-fa, The Legal Culture and System of Taiwan, Chapter 2, (Kluwer Law International 2006).
References
^ abChang-fa Lo, Driving an Ox Cart to Catch Up With the Space Shuttle: The Need For and Prospects of Legal Education Reform in Taiwan, 24 Wis. Int'l L.J. 41 (2006).
