教会法（Canon Law）——天主教会的教会法，是一个得到充分发展的法律体系，具有全部必须的因素：法院，律师，法官，完全衔接的法典，以及法律解释原则。教会法的学位是J.C.B.（Juris Canonici Baccalaureatus，教律学士Bachelor of Canon Law，通常作为毕业学位）, JCL（Juris Canonici Licentiatus, 教律学师（Licentiate of Canon Law））和J.C.D.（Juris Canonici Doctor, 教律博士（Doctor of Canon Law））。因为其特殊的性质，民法或神学的高级学位是教会法学习的一般先决条件。

The canon law of the Catholic Church (Ecclesiastical Latin: Jus Canonicum) is the system of laws and legal principles made and enforced by the hierarchical authorities of the Church to regulate its external organization and government and to order and direct the activities of Catholics toward the mission of the Church. It was the first modern Western legal system and is the oldest continuously functioning legal system in the West, while the unique traditions of Oriental canon law govern the 23 sui juris particular Eastern Catholic Churches.