Legal Studies

The Third-Cycle Doctoral Study Programme in Law represents the highest level of the study process in the field of legal sciences. It is intended for the most capable students who are motivated to conduct independent scientific and research work in a selected field of law.

The programme is organised as a single four-year study programme, in which each student chooses one of 13 specialisation modules:

Civil Law, Labour Law and Social Security Law, Economic Analysis of Law, European Law, Commercial Law, Criminal Law, Criminology, International Law, Legal History, Roman Law, Theory of Law and State, Administrative Law, and Constitutional Law.

Upon successful completion of the programme, the doctoral candidate is awarded the academic title of:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) (Doctor of Science / doktor znanosti).

The call for applications for enrolment in doctoral study programmes (third-cycle studies) for the academic year 2026/2027 is published on the website of the Doctoral School of the University of Ljubljana.

The Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana is offering 41 places for enrolment in the Doctoral Study Programme in Law for the 2026/2027 academic year.

The application deadline for enrolment in the doctoral programme in Law is 20 August 2026. Applications are submitted electronically via the eVŠ online portal, which remains open until the end of the application period.

Applicants submitting foreign educational qualifications must also submit a recognition of education request together with their application via the eVŠ portal. Information regarding recognition procedures is available via the relevant official link.

In an attached document, information is published regarding the number of available places per individual specialisation module, along with application guidelines. Additional information needed for applicants is available at the Doctoral Studies Office.

The total tuition fee amounts to €16,000, distributed as follows:

• First year: €6,600
• Second year: €4,000
• Third year: €2,400
• Fourth year: €3,000

Information regarding possible co-funding will be available in December. For further details, applicants are advised to contact the Doctoral Studies Office. Current and previous tuition fee schedules are available via the official pricing information page.

In the renewed study plans, only the course coordinator is listed, while all lecturers and their academic references are provided in a separate file. The requirements for demonstrating the research activity of a supervisor or co-supervisor are published here, while data on research activity required for supervision is available in the SICRIS system.

The first year of the doctoral programme consists of lectures and individual research work aimed at preparing the doctoral dissertation proposal, which the doctoral candidate presents in the second year during the first doctoral seminar. The third year is entirely dedicated to individual research work for the preparation of the doctoral dissertation. In the fourth year, the doctoral candidate presents the progress of their research during the second doctoral seminar.
If a course has 10 or more enrolled students, it is delivered in the form of lectures. If there are 5–9 students, it is conducted through group consultations amounting to up to one-third of the lecture hours. If there are 1–4 students, the course is delivered through individual consultations amounting to 2 hours of direct teaching per student.

Topic Submission

Before enrolment in the second year, the doctoral candidate must submit a proposal for a doctoral dissertation topic, including a fully developed dissertation proposal. The application must also be submitted in the Student Information System (ŠIS), where a PDF version of Form B3 (Topic Proposal with Declaration of Authorship) must be uploaded. Both the application and the declaration must be signed in both physical and electronic form.

The topic proposal includes:
a) candidate information
b) information on the proposed supervisor and possible co-supervisor
c) study programme and selected module
d) dissertation title
e) possible proposal to write the dissertation in English

Required attachments are listed below.

Important: potential supervisors are not obliged to accept a candidate.

According to the decision of the Doctoral Studies Committee of the University of Ljubljana, dissertation titles must not contain colons, semicolons, dashes, or subordinate clauses. The English title must be agreed upon with the supervisor in advance. Writing the dissertation in English may be approved in accordance with the Statute of the University of Ljubljana, particularly for foreign candidates or when a supervisor or committee member does not speak Slovene.

Required Attachments for Topic Submission

• Statement of consent from the proposed supervisor and co-supervisor, including 3–5 references and SICRIS identification where applicable
• Academic CV of the doctoral candidate, including date of first enrolment
• Bibliography
• Ethical approval (if required), e.g. medical ethics committee approval or other relevant authority permissions
• Dissertation proposal (and English version if applicable)

The detailed procedure is governed by Articles 32 et seq. of the Doctoral Studies Regulations of the University of Ljubljana.

Dissertation Proposal and First Doctoral Seminar

The dissertation proposal includes:
a) title in Slovene and English
b) scientific field
c) NRRP form (Research Data Management Plan)
d) research design, including:

• literature review and research background
• research aims, hypotheses, or questions
• methodology
• expected results and original contribution to science
• bibliography (not included in page limit of 3–7 pages)

The prerequisite for the first doctoral seminar is the completion of all first-year obligations (60 ECTS). Publication of a scientific article is not required for the seminar but must be completed before graduation.

Further procedures (appointment of committee, evaluation, approval by Senate) are regulated by Articles 37 et seq. of the Doctoral Studies Regulations.

Scientific Article Requirement

Doctoral candidates must publish at least one scientific article in a national or international peer-reviewed journal.

At the time of dissertation submission, the candidate must have a published or accepted article. The article must acknowledge the affiliation “University of Ljubljana”.

Key rules include:

• The article must be submitted for evaluation no later than the dissertation submission.
• The candidate works with their supervisor, who provides guidance and reviews the article before publication.
• The article must relate to the dissertation field.
• Negative evaluation of scientific quality may be reviewed further by the Faculty Senate upon request.

Doctoral Dissertation

The doctoral dissertation is an original written scientific work representing an independent contribution to the field of study.

It must include:

• title in Slovene and English (or another language if applicable)
• abstract in Slovene and English (max. 300 words)
• table of contents
• literature review
• research aims
• hypotheses/research questions
• methodology
• results
• discussion
• conclusions
• references
• final NRRP version and appendices
• extended summary in Slovene if written in a foreign language

A signed declaration confirming originality and identity of printed and electronic versions must be attached.

Research data must be made publicly accessible in accordance with the Doctoral Studies Regulations, ensuring transparency, accessibility, and reuse. The NRRP must be prepared before dissertation approval and updated throughout the research process.

Submission of the Final Work

Submission deadlines are governed by the University Statute and Doctoral Studies Regulations.

Submission is carried out via the Student Information System (ŠIS). After electronic submission, a declaration of authorship is generated.

Students must submit:

• at least six bound copies of the dissertation (or one per committee member plus copies for libraries)
• signed declaration of authorship included in the bound thesis
• printed version identical to the electronic version

For enrolment in the 2nd year, a doctoral candidate must obtain 45 ECTS credits and submit an application for the dissertation topic with a completed dissertation proposal. Repeating the first year may be permitted if the doctoral candidate has completed at least 25 ECTS credits.

For progression to the third year, the doctoral candidate must complete all first-year requirements, successfully pass the 1st doctoral seminar, and obtain approval of the dissertation topic from the Faculty Senate. Repeating the third year may be permitted if the doctoral candidate has completed all first- and second-year requirements.

For progression to the fourth year, the doctoral candidate must complete all requirements of the first three years and obtain approval of the dissertation topic from the University of Ljubljana Senate. Upon prior enrolment in the final year, the doctoral candidate may enrol in an additional year.

The doctoral programme is successfully completed by a doctoral student who:
a) completes all examinations, both doctoral seminars, and individual research work across all study years, totalling 240 ECTS credits;
b) prepares and publishes at least one scientific article (the assessment of whether the publication meets scientific criteria is made by the Doctoral Student Monitoring Committee upon the student’s application); and
c) successfully defends the doctoral dissertation.

Doctoral students may have examinations from compulsory module subjects recognised.

Doctoral students are required, in their research work, to comply with the Ethical Code for Researchers of the University of Ljubljana. Upon enrolment, they receive the Code and sign a Declaration of the Researcher committing to the implementation of the UL ethical principles.

According to the decision of the Committee for Study Affairs of the Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana, previously completed study obligations may be recognised within compulsory content, whereby individual compulsory courses may be recognised in full or in part, but not exceeding a total of 20 ECTS credits.

According to the decision of the Committee for Study Affairs of the Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana, doctoral students who have passed the Bar Examination are awarded 10 ECTS credits from elective content. The request for recognition of elective courses must include a certified copy of the proof (notary or administrative unit) of the Bar Examination and the names of the selected courses within the doctoral study programme in Law.

In accordance with the decision of the Doctoral Studies Committee of the Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana, 10 ECTS credits of elective content may be claimed regardless of whether the candidate has already used the ECTS credits obtained for the Bar Examination within another study programme.

According to the decision of the Committee for Study Affairs of the Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana, doctoral students who have already passed the course Philosophy of Law in a master’s programme (scientific master’s degree) are granted recognition of the course Theory of Law and Methodology of Scientific Work. No additional requirements are needed for full recognition of the examination.

The B3 form “Mentorship Proposal”, signed by the supervisor (mentor), must be submitted with the application for enrolment in doctoral studies.

The B3 forms “Application for a Seminar Paper in Postgraduate Doctoral Studies” and “Application for an Examination in Postgraduate Doctoral Studies”, completed and signed with a grade by the lecturer, are issued by the administrative office (student office). These documents are required for the entry of grades into the Student Information System.

The B3 “Application for Examination” form serves as proof of a completed examination and is submitted by the student to the lecturer at the examination (prior submission of the application is not required).

The B3 “Application for Seminar Paper” form serves as proof of a completed seminar paper and is submitted by the student to the lecturer together with the seminar paper.

The B3 “Application for Dissertation Topic with Declaration of Authorship” is part of the application for approval of a doctoral dissertation topic. The form also includes a request to write the doctoral dissertation in English, which must be removed if the dissertation is written in Slovene.

Forms for submitting academic requests (e.g. for continuation of studies or extension of the deadline for submitting the completed doctoral dissertation) are available only in electronic form via the Student Information System (ŠIS). The request must be submitted electronically, printed, and, together with supporting documents, signed and sent to the Doctoral Studies Office.