National Law University, Jodhpur

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

National Law University
Motto: Knowledge is Empowerment
Established: 2001
Type: Public (Established by State Statute) -Autonomous
Undergraduates: 600
Postgraduates: 150
Location: Jodhpur, Mandore, Rajasthan, India
Campus: Urban, 55 acres
Colors: White and Blue
Website: http://www.nlujodhpur.ac.in/

National Law University, Jodhpur is an autonomous Law University in India committed to the cause of providing Legal Education. The institute offers under-graduate and post-graduate courses in various facades of law.

The degrees offered at the under-graduate level are;

  • B.B.A,LL.B. (Hons)
  • B.A.,LL.B. (Hons)
  • B.Sc.,LL.B. (Hons)

All of these are ten semester courses and open only for students on fully-residential basis. Since 2008, the admission to these courses would be on through the Common Law Admission Test the first of which would take place on May 11, 2008.

At the post-graduate level the degrees offered are (subject-wise basis);

  • Constitutional Governance (MA/M.Sc in Constitutional Governance, Four Semesters)
  • Intellectual Property Law (LL.M-IPR/MIP, Four Semesters)
  • Management and Law (MBA,LL.M/MBL, Six Semesters)
  • Insurance (MBA in Insurance, Five Semesters)
  • International Trade and WTO (LL.M.(International Trade), Four Semester)
  • Banking and Finance (MBF, Four Semesters)

The admission to these courses is though the National Entrance Tests[1] organised by the University each year.

Contents

[edit] History

The National Law University, Jodhpur was set up in November 1999 (by the passing of the National Law University Act,1999 by the State Legislature of Rajasthan) under the leadership of Dr. N.L. Mitra. Since then the University has seen two more Vice-Chancellors and an equal number of under-graduate batches pass out. The first batch (both under-graduate and post-graduate) of the University was admitted in the year 2001. The first under-graduate batch passed off in 2006 with their graduation ceremony (First Convocation) organised in January 2007 and attended by the then Vice-President of India Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and the then Governor of Rajasthan and now President of India Mrs. Pratibha Patil.

The second under-graduate batch passed out in 2007 and the Convocation ceremony for them was organized on March 29, 2008 and was attended by the then Home Minister, Government of India, Mr. Shivraj Patil.

[edit] Philosophy behind National Law University, Jodhpur

Established in 2001, National Law University boasts of being the first institution of its kind in the country where study of law is coupled with other disciplines such as Science, Management Science and Policy Sciences. It introduced for the first time the degree of B.B.A., LL.B. (Hons) (i.e. Management and Law) in the country, requiring the students of the course to undertake specialized courses in Management Studies (such as Audit, Accounting, Principles of Management, Organizational Behaviour, Marketing, Strategy, etc.) and assimilate the learning therein especially with the fast evolving corporate and financial laws.

As the University itself puts it, National law universities only answers intention to do the same from the entire country following the traditions of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in technology education, Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) in the management education and All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) in medical education. [2] Terming its establishment as a Third Generation Experiment, the University calls forth and furthers the need behind viewing and handling legal education today in a multidisciplinary scenario. Keeping this objective of multidisciplinary total education in view and the growing needs of legal profession in the global context, the university has established five schools of learning. These are School of Policy Science, School of Management, School of Science, School of Languages and School of Law, which not only intertwines the knowledge of other disciplines with the subject of law but also allows the students a choice in designing their courses of specialization and thus making, prized experts in their respective fields.

Towards these ends, the University offers five year integrated undergraduate program in three streams B.A.,LL.B. (Hons.), B.B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) and B.Sc., LL.B. (Hons.), each with a vision to integrate the knowledge of law with humanities, management and natural sciences respectively.[3] In this under-graduate program, not only all the compulsory subjects prescribed by the Bar Council of India are taught in the comparative context but the University also administers Honours courses in six specialized disciplines, namely;

  • Constitutional Governance,
  • Corporate Legal System,
  • Trade Related Laws and WTO,
  • Law and Technology,
  • Criminal Law & Forensic Sciences, and
  • Human Rights.

The University claims to have taken great care in structuring various subjects to make the Honours courses in their respective streams highly innovative and knowledge oriented. Further, to keep the syllabus in line with the ongoing developments of the dynamic world, the University boasts of a high-profiled Advisory Board to advice and assist the faculty in the development and teaching of a customized and updated curriculum. [4]

The University as such highlights various critical issues facing the legal education and equally the profession today in the light of the changing dynamics of the growth and complexities in other disciplines of social life and insists upon these being addressed in the teaching of law. Some of these critical areas identified by the University

  • Information technology and cyber knowledge
  • Biotechnology and genetic engineering
  • International trade and global standards
  • Global accounting and legal standards
  • Infrastructure systems
  • Project finance and good governance
  • Social justice and equation of interest

To accentuate these objectives, the University practices various methodologies of teaching & learning process such as co-operative teaching, case studies, lecture demonstration, group discussions, and self-conducted research. Evaluation is carried out on continuing basis on grade points. As a teaching-learning process, courtroom exercises are an integral part of the curriculum from the very first year. The University has found these exercises to be highly successful in sharpening the lawyering skills in the students and providing them a real life exposure to the profession.

In additional to the above, the University also takes pride in its eight centres of learning which it describes as the Centres of Studies & Research namely,

  • Center for Studies in Agriculture and Law (CSAL) [5]
  • Center for Studies in Banking and Financial Institutions (CSBFI) [6]
  • Center for Criminal Law Studies (CCLS) [7]
  • Center for Human Rights Education and Research (CHEAR) [8]
  • Center for Intellectual Property Law (CIPLAW) [9]
  • Center for Studies in Insurance (CSI) [10]
  • Center for Regional Economic Groupings (EEC, NAFTA, ASEAN, SAARC) (CFREG) [11]
  • Center for WTO Studies (CWS) [12]

The University also conducts several short and medium term orientation, training and refresher courses for NGOs, Government officials and public administrators, local self-Government, legal professionals including members of the bar and the bench, other administrative authorities and corporate officials.

[edit] University Governance

University Officials [13]

The University has four officials;

  • The Chief Justice of India - Visitor,
  • The Chief Justice of High Court of Rajasthan - Chancellor,
  • Vice Chancellor, and
  • Registrar.

Besides the officials, the University has three official bodies;

General Council [14]

The General Council comprises the following members;

  • The Chief Justice of High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan Ex-Officio
  • The Minister In charge of Law Government of Rajasthan Ex-Officio
  • The Minister In charge of Higher Education, Govt. of Rajasthan Ex-Officio
  • The Attorney General of India Ex-Officio
  • The Secretary to Govt., Law & Legal Affairs Department, Rajasthan Ex-Officio
  • The Secretary to Govt., Higher Education Department, Rajasthan Ex-Officio
  • The Secretary to Govt.. Finance Dept., Rajasthan Ex-Officio
  • The Chairman, Rajasthan State Bar Council Ex-Officio
  • The Chairperson of the University Grants Commission Ex-Officio
  • Two eminent persons nominated by the Chancellor working in the field of Law & Law Education
  • The Vice Chancellor Ex-Officio
  • Advocate General, Rajasthan Ex-Officio
  • Three eminent Jurists/ Judges of the Supreme Court/ High Court, Retired or in office nominated by the Visitor
  • Five eminent Professors in Law, Science, Social Science to be nominated by the Chancellor.
  • All Professors - Directors of the Schools


Executive Council [15]

The Executive Council comprises the following members;

  • The Vice Chancellor Ex-Officio
  • One Member of the General Council (to be nominated by General Council)
  • Advocate General, Rajasthan Ex-Officio
  • The Secretary to the Govt. Law & Legal Affairs Dept. Rajasthan or his nominee not below the rank of Legal Remembrancer Ex-Officio
  • The Secretary, Higher Education Department, Rajasthan or his nominee not below the rank of Special Secretary, Higher Education Dept., Rajasthan Ex-Officio
  • The Secretary to the Govt. Finance Dept., Rajasthan or his nominee not below the rank of Special Secretary, Finance Department. Ex-Officio
  • The Chairman, the State Bar Council, Rajasthan Ex-Officio
  • Two senior most Faculty Members to be nominated by the Vice Chancellor by rotation.
  • Two eminent academician or Jurists to be nominated by the Visitor.
  • A seating Judge of the Rajasthan High Court to be nominated by the Chancellor
  • Chairman, Bar Council of India Ex-Officio


Academic Council [16]

The Academic Council comprises the following members;

  • The Vice Chancellor, Chairman
  • Three persons from among the educationists or men of letters or members from learned professions, who are not in the service of the University to be nominated by the Chancellor
  • The Secretary to the Government, Law and Legal Affairs Department, Govt. Of Rajasthan Ex-Officio
  • One person nominated by the Chairman, Bar Council of India
  • All Heads of Departments
  • All Professors (other than Heads of Departments )
  • Two members of the teaching staff, to be nominated by the Vice-Chancellor from amongst the Associate and Assistant Professors of the University in order of seniority in each category by rotation.
  • One member of the Legal Education Committee of the Bar Council of India to be nominated by the Chairman of the Committee
  • Three eminent Professors/Jurists/Lawyers to be nominated by the Chancellor

The University also boasts which of a high-profiled Advisory Board [17]to assist in the formation and updating of the curriculum. Its members comprise of legal and other luminaries, which include;

  • Justice S.B. Sinha, Judge, Supreme Court of India
  • Shri Gopal Subramanium, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India
  • Shri F.S. Nariman, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India
  • Shri Arun Jaitley, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India
  • Shri P.H. Parekh, Advocate, Supreme Court of India
  • Shri Shardul S. Shroff, Managing Partner, Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Company
  • Shri D.D. Rathi, Whole Time Director & CFO, Grasim Industries Ltd.
  • Shri Pravin Anand, Senior Partner, Anand and Anand Advocates
  • Shri P.P. Rao, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India
  • Ms. Zia Mody, Managing Partner, AZB & Partners (M&D)
  • Shri K. Parasaran, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India
  • Shri C.S. Vaidyanathan, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India
  • Mr. R.K.P. Shankardass, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India
  • Prof. Kuldeep Mathur, Former Professor of Law & Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University
  • Prof. Ashok Singhvi, Senior Professor, Physical Research Laboratory
  • Dr. Joydeep Kant, Vice President, CRD, Ranbaxy Research Laboratories Ltd.
  • Shri Ashok Goenka, Former Chairman, GIC of India and Former Professor, Singapore University
  • Shri C.S. Rao, Chairman, Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority

[edit] Vice Chancellors of National Law University, Jodhpur

No. Vice Chancellor Took office Left office Career highlights at NLU
01 Dr. N.L. Mitra [18] 2001 2004 Founding Vice Chancellor • Building an exclusive campus for University
02 Dr. A.K. Koul [19] 2004 2008 Ensuring recruitment of all undergraduate and postgraduate students.
03 Justice N.N. Mathur [20] 2008 Incumbent

[edit] Visitors to the National Law University, Jodhpur

In the short-span of its establishment, the University has been witness to various high profile national and international visitors. [21]Some of these have been;

The University has also been organizing and hosting various lectures and discussions by eminent and distinguished members of the legal and scholarly fraternity. Some of the previous lectures have been as under; [22]

Date Presenter Designation Topic
February 29, 2008 Vinod Dhall IAS, Member and Acting Chairman, Competition Commission of India "The Competition Act, 2002"
February 26, 2008 Dr. Gary vanLoon Professor of Chemistry, Queens University, Kingston, Canada & President, Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute "Sustainable Development and Environmental Law"
February 25, 2008 Dr. Justice Shivaraj V. Patil Member, National Human Rights Commission of India & Former Judge, Supreme Court of India "Human Rights, Constitution and our Responsibilities"
February 8, 2008 Prof. John Philips Professor of English Law, King’s College London "Commercial Negotiations – Continuing Uncertainty"
October 25, 2007 B.C. Khatua Chairman, Forward Markets Commission, (India) "Commodity Derivatives Market in India"
August 8, 2007 Prof. Shyam S. Lodha Professor of Marketing & International Business, Southern Connecticut State University, Connecticut "Executive Functions in a Diversified Environment with Reference to Legal Issues"
July 21, 2007 Justice M. Jagannatha Rao Former Chairman, Law Commission of India "Indian Judiciary: Problems and Prospects"
February 28, 2007 David Malone High Commissioner of Canada to India "The UN Security Council: Boom or Bust"
December 28, 2006 Nripendra Misra Chairman, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) (untitled)
October 16, 2006 Barbara Timmer Legal Consultant and Project Advisor, California "Business Law & Technology Policy"
October 7, 2006 Justice P.P. Naolekar Judge, Supreme Court of India "Clinical Legal Education: The Future Agenda"
September 29, 2006 Madhav J. Joshi Chief Legal Officer, Tata Tele Services Limited "Disputes Resolution in Telecom Sector"
September 15, 2006 D.D. Rathi Whole-time Director and Chief Financial Officer, Grasim Industries Ltd. "Corporate Governance"
September 9, 2006 Prof. Anurag K. Agarwal Faculty, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad "International Commercial Arbitration: Party Autonomy and Role of Courts"
September 4, 2006 Dr. Satvinder S. Juss Reader of Law at Kings College London "Refugee Law: Modern Societies Coping With Refugees/ Immigrants"
August 23, 2006 Prof. (Dr.) V.S. Mani Former Vice Chancellor, Gujarat National Law University "International Litigation"
March 3, 2006 Prof. S. Narayanan Former Ambassador of India to the WTO "Dispute Settlement at the WTO"
January 29, 2006 H.R. Bhardwaj Minister for Law & Justice, Government of India (untitled)
January 29, 2006 Justice A.K. Mathur Judge, Supreme Court of India (untitled)
January 18, 2006 Dr. P.S. Rao Ad Hoc Judge, International Court of Justice, Member, International Law Commission "International Liability for Transboundary Harm"
January 11, 2006 Justice S.B. Sinha Judge, Supreme Court of India "Law in India: Emerging Thoughts"
December 29, 2005 Vallabh Bhanshali Chairman, Enam Financial Consultants Ltd., Mumbai "Business Tomorrow"
December 27, 2005 A.K. Mohapatra Secretary to Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Government of India "Parliamentary Democracy"
December 24, 2005 V. Lakshmikumaran Advocate and Founding Partner, Lakshmikumaran & Shridharan, Associates (Law Firm) "Subsidies and Countervailing Measures"
January 29, 2006 Prof. (Dr.) N.R. Madhava Menon Director, National Judicial Academy, Bhopal "Legal Education in Social Context"
September 19, 2005 Prof. (Dr.) Ranbir Singh Vice Chancellor, NALSAR University of Law "Critical Legal Thinking"
September 17, 2005 Dr. Rakesh Mohan Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India "Economic Reforms in India"
September 3, 2005 P.H. Parekh President, Supreme Court Bar Association (India) "Law is a Jealous Mistress"
August 20, 2005 Prof. (Dr.) C.P. Shrimali Chairman, HRM Area, Management Development Institute (MDI) Gurgaon "Competency Building for Meeting Challenges of the Corporate World"

The University also hosted the Second All India Law Teachers Conference (AILTC) held on January 29-30, 2006 and attended by the law teachers from all over the country.

[edit] Moot Courts

Moot Courts are a critical paradigm of legal education today and they are well integrated in the curriculum of the University. They are a part of the University's culture in both internal and external front. On the external side, since its establishment, the University has been successfully hosting the prestigious M.M. Singhvi Bar Council of India Trust Moot Court Competition which is being organised to commemorate the memory of Late Mr. M.M. Singhvi, a leading lawyer in Rajasthan High Court. The Competition is organised under the aegis of the M.M. Singhvi Memorial Trust and the Bar Council of India. Teams from almost all law colleges in the country participate in the Competition and since 2007, the competition has turned international with even teams from outside India participating in the Competition. The University also also hosted the North Indian rounds of the Stetson Environmental Law Moot Court Competition, which is another prestigious and leading Moot Court Competition. Apart from this, the University has also hosted the Surana & Surana National Corporate Law Moot Court Competition which is sponsored by the Surana Foundation, Chennai.

On the internal front, moot courts are well integrated in the curriculum of the University. In all law subjects (beginning right from the first semester of the under-graduate program), 15-20 percent of the marks are earmarked for moot courts and are assessed by the panel of two-three judges (comprising of the teaching faculty and/or retired judge(/s)) where the students are required to address the court on the problem related to the subject-matter being taught in the paper and assessed upon their performance. Based on the cumulative performance in these internal moot courts and other criterion, the Moot Court Committee organises an intra-University moot court competition once in each semester and depending upon the rankings of these intra-University moot court competitions, the students are sent to represent the University in various National and International Moot Court Competitions.

The students have performed well in various national and international moot court competition, the most notable being the victory of a team at the Susan J. Ferrell Inter-cultural Human Rights Moot Court Competition conducted by the St. Thomas University, Florida, in January 2007. The team comprising of Anil Raj ('07), Gauarav Solanki ('07), Reshma Khan ('08), Kunal Mehta ('08) and Riddhi Sancheti ('09) secured the first position and also the second best memorial prize. Also, Reshma Khan and Riddhi Sancheti were awarded the "Best Oralist" and the "Third Best Oralist" respectively. [23]

[edit] IT Infrastructure

National Law University provides 24*7 Internet access to its every student. it has subscribed various Online Law Libraries like Westlaw and Manupatra which makes the cases and research material available on the fingertips of the student. It has Wireless Networking in the form of 802.11g Wi-Fi available in the Academic Block with internet speed of 2 Mbit/s, Library Building and Mess. Besides this 100 Mbit/s with internet speed of 2 Mbit/s from 8 A.M. to 5 P.M. and 4 Mbit/s from 5 P.M. to 8 A.M. Ethernet Wiring is provided in every hostel room. This enables the faculty teachers to share study resources in the internet also.

[edit] Gallery

NLU_Entrance

President_at_NLU

First_Convocation

Constitutional_block

Hostels_NLU

Second_Convocation

[edit] References

  1. ^ NLU PG NET (29 May 2008).
  2. ^ About NLU (29 May 2008).
  3. ^ NLU UG courses (29 May 2008).
  4. ^ NLU Advisory Board (29 May 2008).
  5. ^ NLU Center for Studies in Agriculture and Law (29 May 2008).
  6. ^ NLU Center for Studies in Banking and Financial Instituions (29 May 2008).
  7. ^ NLU Center for Criminal Law Studies (29 May 2008).
  8. ^ NLU Center for Human Rights Education and Research (29 May 2008).
  9. ^ NLU Center for Intellectual Property Law (29 May 2008).
  10. ^ NLU Center for Studies in Insurance (29 May 2008).
  11. ^ NLU Center for Regional Economic Groupings (29 May 2008).
  12. ^ NLU Center for WTO Studies (29 May 2008).
  13. ^ NLU University Officials (29 May 2008).
  14. ^ NLU General Council (29 May 2008).
  15. ^ NLU Executive Council (29 May 2008).
  16. ^ NLU Academic Council (29 May 2008).
  17. ^ NLU Advisory Board (29 May 2008).
  18. ^ Dr. N.L. Mitra (29 May 2008).
  19. ^ A.K. Koul (29 May 2008).
  20. ^ N.N. Mathur (29 May 2008).
  21. ^ NLU Dignitaries (29 May 2008).
  22. ^ CEI Reports, NLU Jodhpur (29 May 2008).
  23. ^ St. Thomas University School of Law, Second Annual Moot Court Competition, 2007.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Autonomous Law Schools in India