National University of Advanced Legal Studies

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National University of Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS) is a University located at Kochi, India. NUALS has been established to be a national level institute of excellence in higher learning of law in the state of Kerala by the Government of Kerala by virtue of the Act 27 of 2005. The curriculam, teaching methods and examination system shall be quite unlike in any conventional colleges in the country.

1 History
2 Curriculum
3 Evaluation
4 SYLLABUS
5 Faculty
6 Eminent visitors
7 Tie-ups and Exchange Programmes
8 Achievements
9 Current Events
10 External links

[edit] History

The National University of Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS) was established by the Government of Kerala, by virtue of Act 27 of 2005 by making over the erstwhile National Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), which was established and managed by the Bar Council of Kerala and Bar Council of Kerala Trust. Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Judge, Supreme Court of India dedicated the National University of Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS) to the nation here on January 7, 2006. Cochin, being the seat of High Court of Kerala, is the most ideal location to set up the first national law school in Kerala, and thus NUALS was set up in the heart of the city. The Government of Kerala has allotted 2.5 acres of land and a permanent building on lease for housing the University. The Government has also allotted 10 acres of land on lease for 90 years, at Kalamassery, in the outskirts of Cochin City, for constructing the permanent campus for this University. Plans are already underway to begin the construction work. The University will be shifted to the new campus within a short period. The present Vice -Chancellor of the University is Prof.Dr. S.G. Bhatt

[edit] Curriculum

The Bar Council of India has recommended 37 subjects (including 4 training courses) for the 5 year LLB course. NUALS has developed an innovative style of imparting legal education, in keeping with the changing times and attitudes towards the study of law. The University implements the Socrates method of teaching, where the students and teachers engage in an interactive mode of conducting the classes. Students are encouraged to raise questions and voice opinions, and the teacher facilitates a healthy discussion by chipping in with his/her expertise. The academic structure is intended to provide a wholesome learning experience for the students. The students are either allotted project topics or are allowed to choose a topic of their interest. In either case, the research work and subsequent collating of information is done by the students themselves. The project work is evaluated by conducting internal examinations, seminars, paper presentations etc, which ensure that the student not only appraises his area of research thoroughly, but also articulates the same before a set audience. Besides, the students are also required to conduct Legal Aid camps and Legal Aid clinics in selected villages in Kerala. This provides practical, grass-root insights.

[edit] Evaluation

Evaluation of students is based on the division of 100 marks per subject into internal and external evaluation (50 marks each for five subjects every semester). Internal evaluation consists of test papers, project presentations/viva vocé/seminars, interaction in class, attendance etc. The semester-end examinations (written paper of 3-hrs duration each) form the external evaluation. A student who secures an aggregate of 60% or more in all the ten semesters in the first attempt shall be placed in First Class. A student who secures an aggregate of 70% or more in all the ten semesters in the first attempt obtains a Distinction. A student who averages below 60%, subject to the pass mark of 50 in each subject, secures a Second Class.

[edit] SYLLABUS

The syllabus of NUALS was drafted under the able leadership of former Director of NUALS (then NIALS), Prof Dr. K.N.Chandrasekharan Pillai, who is presently the Director of the Indian Law Institute, New Delhi. The syllabus introduces subjects relevant to the study of law, but never incorporated hitherto in the syllabi of Indian law schools. The work group drafted the syllabus bearing in mind the shifting trends in the legal fraternity in India and abroad

[edit] Faculty

The faculty members of NUALS constitute a highly qualified and professional team with a missionary zeal, who have what it takes to equip the students with a deep-rooted understanding of the law. Faculty members have, time and again, published books on subjects of their specialization, which include Indian history, legal language etc. Besides, they also have a number of paper publications to their credit in leading law journals in the country. The fact that a majority of the faculty belong to the Bar, and are reputed advocates in the High Court and lower courts, adds to their practical knowledge, which is of great help during classroom discussions. Guest lecturers and visiting faculty are part of the extended family of NUALS. The University constantly solicits the wisdom of experts and specialists who have carved a niché for themselves in their respective fields. They include, inter alia, Supreme Court lawyers, scientists, medical professionals, Heads of Departments of other Universities, professors from foreign Universities etc. Visiting Faculty includes:

Adv. Romi Chacko – Advocate, Supreme Court of India Adv. Srilal Warriar – Advocate, High Court of Kerala Dr. Kanthaswamy - Medico-Legal Advisor to the Government of Kerala; Police Surgeon; served as W.H.O Fellow in Educational Science in U.K and U.S.A; Honorary Advisor and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Medical Education, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS). Dr. Kylasanath Pillai - Advocate, Supreme Court of India & High Court of Kerala. Dr. Murali Krishna – Editor, Journal of Indian Academy of Forensic Sciences, Research Guide for projects of I.C.A.R. Dr. Rajan Mathai - Clinical Psychologist at Kusumagiri Mental Health Centre, Cochin. Assistant Research Officer of Medical Research, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS); Currently, President of the Association of Clinical Psychologists. Dr. Sebastian Champappilly - Advocate, High Court of Kerala & Author of several treatises on Family Law Adv. Abraham Dr. Sebastian Paul - Doctorate in the Law of Press; Sitting Member of Indian Parliament Khan Sahib K. - Retired District Officer, Fingerprint Bureau, Kerala Police; Subject Expert and Honorary Lecturer at the Judicial Officers Training Directorate, High Court of Kerala.

Prof. P. Leela Krishnan - Butterworths Fellow in London University; Emeritus Fellow in Law, Cochin University; Convener of the UGC Law Panel and UGC Curriculum Development Committee in Law V. Sebastian - Faculty, School of Legal Studies, Cochin.

[edit] Eminent visitors

eminent visitors to the University are

Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer - Former Judge, Supreme Court of India Justice. K.T. Sankaran - Judge, High Court of Kerala Justice Basant– Judge High Court of Kerala Jusice Basheer Justice Padmanabhan Adv. Dushyant Dave - Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India Adv. Gopakumaran Nair - Advocate, High Court of Kerala

Dr S.R.S. Bedi - Head of Archives Division, International Court of Justice, The Hague Dr. Anand Parthasarathy - Consultant Editor to “The Hindu” (I.T.) Dr. C.R. Mukundan - Head of Research & Development Team at Axxonet Solutions India Pvt. Ltd.; Chairman and Chief Scientist, Brainex Fingerprinting Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore; formerly, Head of Department of Clinical Psychology, NIMHANS. Dr. Faizan Mustafa - Registrar, Aligarh Muslim University Hary France Nicolas— University of Paris, Nanterre, France. Dr. Jancy James - Vice-chancellor, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala Lydia Lazar– Chicago– Kent College of Law, Chicago, Illinois Adv. E.X. Joseph, Supreme Court of India Delia Heneghen, Faculty University of Northampton, U.K R.P. Dhokalia– Former Secretary General, Indian Academy of International Law, Former Dean Banaras Law School. Prof. Ranbir Singh, Vice-Chancellor NALSAR, Hyderabad Dr. K. Unnikrishnan - Professor of History and former Registrar, Cochin University of Science and Technology

Dr. Kuruvilla Thomas - Dr. Peter Schuck - Professor of Constitutional Law, Yale Law School, United States of America Dr. S. Babu Sunder - Head of Department of Computer Application, Cochin University of Science and Technology Adv. M.P. Raju - Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India Adv. Pauly Mathew Murikken – Advocate, High Court of Kerala Adv. P.P. Rao– Senior Advocate Supreme Court of India Prof. G.V. Ajjappa - William A.E. -

[edit] Tie-ups and Exchange Programmes

• Student-Teacher Exchange Programme with University of Paris – Nanterre, France. • Exchange Programme and Scholarship with Albert-Ludwigs University, Germany. • Proposal to get NUALS affiliated to the International Association of Law Schools • Proposed UNDP tie-up for Wayanad • Approved by Supreme Court in the panel of National Law Schools

[edit] Achievements

• Winners at the 1st Surana and Surana Trial Moot Court Competition, 2005 • Winners at the 17th Kerala Law Academy Moot Court Competition, 2006 • Winners at the ULC Bangalore National Moot Court Competition, 2006 • Winners at the 2nd Surana & Surana Trial Moot Court Competition, 2006 • Winners at the 2nd Indian Institute Arbitration and Mediation (IIAM) Hamline Arbitration Moot Court Competition, 2006 • Runners-up at Henry Dunant Moot Court Competition, 2006 • Runners up at Calicut National Moot Court Competition, 2005

have also won several prizes in the following competitions: • M.M. Singhvi Moot Court Competition, 2004 • A.K. Khan Memorial Minority Moot Court Competition, 2006 • Philip.C. Jessup International Moot Court Competition, 2006 • Stetsons International Moot Court Competition, 2006

students have attended and presented papers at various national and international Conferences. They are as follows: • International Conference on Business, Law and Technology (IBLT) Copenhagen, Denmark, November 2006. • International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) XVIth Congress on Law and Lawyers in the Service of People for Peace Justice & Development, Paris, June 2005. • VIIth Human Rights Summer School organised by Empowerment through Law of the Common People (ELCOP), Dhaka, December 2006. • Seminar on Treasuring the Future – Children’s Rights and Realities, organised by the Legal Assistance Forum, Indian Society of International Law (ISIL), New Delhi, November 2006. • South Asia-level Roundtable on Law and (Im)Possibilities of Democratic Social Transformation, conducted by the Law and Society Committee, National Law School of India University, Bangalore, in collaboration with the Centre for the Study of Culture and Society, Bangalore, May 2006.