Proof of foreign language proficiency is one of the admission requirements for the German state examination. As an exchange student, you can also earn ECTS credits with this certificate. In any case, passing a written exam is required to successfully obtain the certificate.
On this page, you can learn more about the courses offered by the Department of Law that meet these requirements
Important Information + Examination Requirements
Taking and passing a written exam is mandatory in all cases. Please note that for courses with fewer than 30 participants, attendance at at least three-quarters of the sessions is a prerequisite for admission to the exam (§ 9, sentence 2, StO 2023). You can find the required language proficiency level in the description of the respective course.
Please let the instructor know well in advance if you need a certificate as an Erasmus or Global Exchange student. In addition, certificates are usually not distributed until the beginning of the following semester. Therefore, please be sure to contact us early.
Upcoming certificate issuance date
- April 16, 2026, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
- April 21, 2026, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Fachbereichsmanagement - Zusatzangebote
Adenauerallee 18 – 22
53113 Bonn
Raum Gelb
When picking up your certificate, please have the following ready:
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Teacher's name
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Semester in which you took the course
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Your ID card or student ID
English Legal Terminology
Lecturer: Dr. Ronald Montague Silley
Introduction to US Law:
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Introduction to the Common Law: History, Precedents & /Stare Decisis/
U.S. Constitutional Law
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American Structure of Government, Judicial System & Legal Profession
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Property Law, Case Law & Anglo-American Legal Analysis
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Contracts & Consideration
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Criminal Law & Legal Sanctions
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Torts & the Jury System
English Legal Terminology
Lecturer: Keith Calhoun-Senghor
Introduction to US Law:
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The Development of Common Law in the 12th and 13th Centuries
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The Key Features of the Anglo-American Legal System
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Court Proceedings in the United States
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U.S. Pre-Trial Discovery
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Mock Jury Trial
Zoom sessions + block seminar
!On-site examination!
English Legal Terminology
Lecturer: Dr. Kathrin Nordmeier
Introduction to US Law:
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Common Law and the U.S. Constitution
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U.S. Civil Law (Tort Law, Contract Law)
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Civil Procedure (Jurisdiction, Discovery, Basic Principles of Procedure, Taking of Evidence)
English Legal Terminology
Lecturer: Gordon Lindhorst
Introduction to British Court Practice:
- Legal Practice and Methodology
- Court Organization
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Case Analysis
Offered only in the winter semester
Course format: Block seminar
English Legal Terminology
Lecturer: Christopher Bisping
Introduction to British Law:
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The English legal system: institutions, adversarial procedure, and principles of constitutional law
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Contract law: formation, contractual privilege, grounds of invalidity, performance, and remedies
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Overview: tort law and property law
Turkish Legal Terminology
Lecturer: Riza Dinc
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General Introduction to Turkish Law:
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Constitutional Law
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Civil Law
Offered only in the winter semester
French Legal Terminology
Lecturer: Dr. Anne-France Ricoux-Zink
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Overview of French Legal History
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Organization of the Judiciary
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Introduction to “Laïcité”
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Introduction to Family Law
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Overview of Political Institutions
Language level: B2
Italian Legal Terminology
Lecturer: Dr. Emanuela Calore
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Introduction to Constitutional Law
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Introduction to Civil Law
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Introduction to Criminal Law
Offered only in the summer semester
Language level: B2
Spanish Legal Terminology
Lecturer: Dr. Maria Teresa Diaz Luque
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Introduction to Constitutional Law (fundamental rights, state organization)
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Introduction to Civil Law (foral law, family law, property law, inheritance law, contract law)
Language level: B2
You may also collect your foreign language certificate during one of the two official collection dates offered in the following semesters. Please make sure to bring your student ID card and check in advance in which semester you completed your foreign language qualification. The collection dates are regularly announced here on this website.
Only in urgent exceptional cases, such as an upcoming registration for the First State Examination, certificates may be collected outside the official dates from the Office of the Faculty Management of Law (Room 1.009, 1st Floor, West Tower, Juridicum). Please note the office hours of the Faculty Management Secretariat.
Please use the link provided under “Course Overview”.
Now select the course you would like to attend. If several parallel groups are listed, please note that these are NOT identical courses, but separate classes taught by different lecturers. Please therefore read the course information carefully and register for your preferred course via the turquoise button labelled “Register”.
Detailed instructions for the registration process can be found in the “Basis Registration Guide”.
To successfully register for the exam date, you only need to register for the corresponding course in BASIS. No additional registration via the examination portal is required.
Please note that some courses may have a mandatory attendance requirement in order to be admitted to the exam.
Important: As there is no separate exam registration, the course will not appear in your grade overview in BASIS.
For the smooth conduct of the examination, please arrive at least 30 minutes before the exam begins. Apart from the exam paper itself, no materials will be provided. Please therefore make sure to bring sufficient paper with you. To ensure a quick attendance check, please have your ID card or a similar identification document ready.
Important: To ensure correct identification, please write both your matriculation number and your full name on the cover sheet.
You will be asked to confirm the submission of your exam with your signature.
Each foreign language certificate course awards 6 ECTS credits.
Examination results are published at the end of each semester, no later than the official grade release date. The results for the foreign language certificate courses are uploaded on this page as a PDF document.
Please note that this document only lists the matriculation numbers of students who did not pass the exam. Consequently, if your matriculation number does not appear in the document, you have passed the exam.
Important: As most exams are pass/fail assessments, no grade will be awarded. Only exchange students receive a grade on their certificate.
Kerstin Petersen (Fremdsprachen)
Adenauerallee 18-22
53113 Bonn
Paula Schier
Adenauerallee 18-22
53113 Bonn
Kim Ihrlich
Adenauerallee 18-22
53113 Bonn