The degree of B.C.L.—like the Research degrees of B.Litt. and B.Sc.—is open to all who have taken an Oxford B.A., and to persons above twenty-one years of age who have obtained a degree in Arts or in Philosophy or in Science in some other University, and who have satisfied the Board of the Faculty of Law that they will be qualified to pursue an advanced course of legal study.[63] Honours can be obtained only by those candidates who at the time of examination have not exceeded twelve Terms (i. e. three years) from the date of their matriculation. The minimum residence requirement is eight Terms.
The examination for the B.C.L. includes the following subjects:—
1. Jurisprudence (and Theory of Legislation).
2. Roman Law:—
(1) The principles of Roman Private Law, as set forth in the Institutes of Justinian (to be read in the original).
(2) One special subject.—Either Ownership and Possessions (cf. Digest xli. and xxiii. 1) or Theory of Contract generally (cf. Digest xlv. 1).
3. English Law:—
(1) Real and Personal Property.
(2) Common Law (including Contracts, Torts, Criminal Law, and the Procedure of the High Court).