West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences
Encyclopedia
The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, abbreviated to WBNUJS or NUJS is an autonomous law university offering courses at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. It is situated in Salt Lake City
of Kolkata
, West Bengal
, India
. NUJS is considered one of the best amongst the elite national law schools
in India built on the five-year law degree model proposed and implemented by the Bar Council of India
.
The University offers a five year integrated B.A./BSc. LLB (Hons.) degree programme at the undergraduate level and a Master of Laws (LLM) programme at the postgraduate level. Admission to the former programme is through the Common Law Admission Test
, a highly competitive, nationwide common entrance examination, held jointly by the eleven national law schools. NUJS also offers MPhil and PhD degrees.
NUJS was established in 1999 by the Bar Council of India, in conjunction with the Government of West Bengal. The Founder-Vice Chancellor of the university was Professor
N.R. Madhava Menon, a former Professor of Law of Delhi University, and Founder-Director, National Law School of India University
(NLSIU), Bangalore, who is credited with revolutionizing the field of legal education in India, by starting the concept of "law schools", as opposed to the traditional law colleges prevalent before.
Other eminent personalities without whose help and active intervention the university could not have been founded, include Sh. Jyoti Basu
, a former Chief Minister of West Bengal who, was a Middle Temple
barrister himself, Sh. Somnath Chatterjee
, a former Speaker of the Lok Sabha
, also a Middle Temple barrister and a leading member of the Calcutta Bar Library, and Justice
Chittotosh Mookerjee, a former Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court and also of the Bombay High Court and the (Acting) Governor of Maharashtra. Justice Mookerjee was the university's Honourary Treasurer, and has been associated with the work of the university since its inception in 1999. The NUJS is an autonomous university.
In the first two years of its existence, NUJS did not have a permanent campus. Classes, which started in 2000, were held at Aranya Bhavan, where the Enviornment Ministry of the Government of West Bengal is located, and the first batches of students started living in government flats. On 28 October 2002, the University's present-day permanent campus was inaugurated by the then Chief Justice of India, B N Kirpal. In 2006, NUJS was allotted a 50 acres (202,343 m²) plot in Rajarhat
, an upscale township, which is being developed by the West Bengal government.
According to Professor Mahendra P Singh
, the University's incumbent Vice Chancellor, it is NUJS's "endeavour to teach students the value of social justice so that they can help the weaker sections of society.". Majority of graduates choose to work at firms that practice corporate law, rather than as litigators, academia or in NGOs. In an article written for The Hindu, Dr Ajay Gudavarthy, a former teacher at NUJS and NLSIU, criticised both these institutions as being "tailored for the corporates" and argued that they could end up as "professional institutions without social relevance."
, Hyderabad, and the National Law School of India University
(NLSIU), Bangalore, and states that NUJS's "placement process is at par with the other two colleges in the top tier.". In 2009 Outlook (a major Indian English-language current affairs and culture magazine) ranked NUJS as the second best law school in India (behind NLSIU). In 2008, in a ranking conducted jointly by the Wall Street Journal and Mint
(a business newspaper of the Hindustan Times
group), NUJS was rated as the third best law school in India (behind NLSIU and NALSAR), with the best "Pedagogic systems and process" amongst all law schools in the country. Overall, the survey awarded NUJS a score of 607 out of 800, while NLSIU and NALSAR achieved scores of 621 and 609 respectively. In 2010 Lawyers Update magazine ranked the faculty at NUJS as the best in India.
However, the news magazine India Today
had ranked NUJS sixth in 2007, fifth in 2008 and eighth in 2009, below law schools that Halsbury's Law Monthly classifies as Tier Two and Tier Three institutions. In 2006, India Today did not even feature NUJS (along with a few other national law schools) in their rankings. India Today's 2006 rankings was criticised as having "gaping flaws" and having caused a "wave of confusion" by lawentrance.com, a website popular amongst law school aspirants. Further controversy was created when Outlook ranked NUJS fifth in 2010 from second in 2009, this demotion led to exchanges of claims and counter-claims between a faculty and student led group at NUJS and the Outlook editors.
The popular press has described NUJS as "one of the top three NLUs"(The Hindu
),
"one of the most prestigious institutions for legal education in the country"(The Telegraph
),and a University whose students' moot court
achievements "put Kolkata on the world map in less than three years"(The Times of India
).
, who was the Ford Foundation Professor of Human Rights. The former Governor of Mizoram and CBI Director, Dr. A.P.Mukherjee taught criminal law here. There is also an IPR chair headed by Shamnad Basheer who is a well known name in the field of Intellectual Property and this is sponsored by the Ministry of Human Resource and Development. The faculty includes Oxonians, a Rhodes scholar
, a Commonwealth Scholar
, a Fulbright scholar, a Felix Scholar and three Chevening Scholars
.
Teachers in NUJS have attended Western universities like Columbia University
, University of Oxford
, Vanderbilt University
, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of Nottingham
, University of Essex
amongst others. Lecturers educated in India are alumni of institutions such as NLSIU, NALSAR University of Law, Jawaharlal Nehru University
and, in a recent trend, NUJS itself. NUJS faculty has published in journals like European Intellectual Property Review
, International Journal of Biotechnology, Journal of World Investment and Trade, Yale Journal of Law and Technology
among others.
In addition to lectures by permanent faculty members, the University organises lectures and interactive seminars attended by jurists, lawyers and academicians from India and abroad. NUJS has four major annual lectures K.C. Basu Endowment Lecture (Law & Economics), Durga Das Basu Memorial Lecture (Constitutional law), Ford Foundation Lecture (Human Rights) and Convocation Address. Visitors who have delivered other lectures include Lord Robin Auld
, Sir Igor Judge, Justice Zakaria Yacoob from the Constitutional Court of South Africa
, Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer
, Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah, Professor
Upendranath Baxi
, Ram Jethmalani
, Indira Jaising
, Vandana Shiva
, Bibek Debroy
, Jayati Ghosh
, Helmut Goerlich, David Nimmer and Manoranjan Mohanty.
Professors from Kolkata's other institutions visit the campus and take classes. Professors from institutions such as the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, the Indian Statistical Institute
, the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade
, Presidency College, Kolkata
, St. Xavier's College, Calcutta
and Jadavpur University
often visit NUJS.
The Schools and the Centres undertake projects which are funded by the Government of India, the Department of Economic Affairs, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, the Ministry of Home Affairs,the United Nations Development Programme
and the Ford Foundation
, among others.
(CLAT). However, to qualify for admission, the candidate:
(a) Must have passed the Higher Secondary School Examination (10+2) or an examination equivalent thereof, securing, in aggregate, not less than 50% in all the core subjects and English put together.
(b) Must not have completed 20 years of age as on day of admission.
The five-year undergraduate course is divided into ten semesters and enrolls 125 students every year. The students represent almost all the States of India and a few join from foreign countries. This programme offers advanced legal education with an emphasis on critical thinking and self-enquiry on the one hand and acquisition of practical skills and knowledge on the other.
The LL.M. programme comprises a range of compulsory and optional courses and a dissertation to be completed within a time frame of four semesters. In the first semester, the students are expected to complete three compulsory courses. In each of the second and third semesters, they have to complete three optional courses respectively. These courses are identified by the Post Graduate Council (PGC) of the University in consultation with its Faculty Council. Students are allowed to make their suggestions regarding choices/preferences of any subject or subjects to the PGC which is given due consideration. A dissertation is to be written in the fourth semester on an approved topic. The students are expected to make presentations on their dissertation one month in advance to their submission and also take up independent teaching assignments on certain subjects.
The M. Phil Degree Programme is designed for legal academics i.e., students who wish to pursue sustained independent study and research and are planning careers in law teaching.
The Postgraduate Council (PGC) constitutes an Advisory Committee of three members for each M.Phil student. Each student will be under the supervision of a Faculty member (Faculty Advisor). The candidate will be eligible for receipt of the degree only if he/she completes the prescribed requirements of the course within a maximum period of three years.
The PhD and LL.D degrees are two of the most advanced law degrees. The candidates to these degrees are expected to produce a thesis that will constitute a substantial and valuable contribution to legal scholarship. Since the doctoral programme is designed to train law teachers, having the opportunity to practice teaching skills is critical. The candidate is therefore given teaching assignments in addition to making presentations before the faculty community.
, one of India's largest engineering and construction conglomerate), Post-Graduate Executive Diploma in Business Management and Law (in partnership with IIM Shillong), space law, Human rights law etc.
The Salt Lake Campus of the university consists of an academic block and three residential blocks. The latter comprises two separate, seven-storied halls of residence for girls and boys and a double-storied faculty accommodation house-cum-guest house. The University's academic block, christened after B.R. Ambedkar, is a four-storied octagonal structure that opens inwardly to a lawn. The building houses classrooms, a library and reading room, two conference halls, offices and an auditorium.
NUJS's main campus is located on a 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) plot in Salt Lake City, overseeing the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass
. The National Institute of Fashion Technology
and the College of Leather Technology border the Campus. The Hyatt Regency and the ITC Sheraton Sonar Bangla, two of Kolkata's largest luxury hotels are situated close to the Campus. The Salt Lake Campus was designed by the architectural firm Ghosh,Bose and Associates, which also designed the Hyatt Regency. Like the Hyatt Regency, NUJS' central building is an example of the Modernist
school of architecture, characterised by minimalist design and open spaces. The front facade has a large, standalone, Neo-Doric style
column that also acts as a support (this has been nicknamed by students as the "Pillar of Justice").
NUJS's Rajarhat
Campus is yet to be built. No significant construction has been undertaken and the land lies vacant.
Admission to the hostels is conducted simultaneously with admission to the University. Although most students reside in the hostels for the entire duration of their course, some local residents choose to live off campus in their homes. The hostels have a mess serving vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals. Every floor of the six- storeyed hostels has 26 single rooms and 12 double rooms. Hostel rooms are equipped with round-the-clock internet access.
The hostels have their own rules of discipline, which are primarily administered by the Wardens in association with students. Self-governance is encouraged for which powers are delegated to select student representatives. The hostel mess is managed by a Mess Committee managed by the residents themselves. There is a doctor available for consultation, who visits the hostel regularly. This apart, the University organizes medical help whenever needed through tie-ups with hospitals located in the Salt Lake area. The Corporation Bank
, a public sector undertaking, has opened a branch inside the campus and offers banking facilities, including an ATM facility.
Other landmarks within walking distance from the campus include the Yuva Bharati Krirangan
(one of the world's largest football stadiums), the Bengal Tennis Academy, the multiplex 89 Cinemas, the Nicco Super Bowl bowling alley, the Stadel resort hotel, Apollo Gleneagles Hospital, AMRI Hospital, the Abcos Food Plaza and the supermarkets Charnock City and Food Bazaar. The campus is also a fifteen minutes' drive away from Kolkata's famous Park Street
, a location that has been at the heart of the city's nightlife since the days of the British Raj and whose restaurants have been credited with having launched some of India's earliest jazz and rock musicians. Tangra
, South Asia's only Chinatown
, is also situated a few minutes' drive away from the Campus, and its eateries are a popular haunt amongst students.
NUJS also holds institutional memberships with leading libraries in the cities such as the British Council Library and the American Information Resource Center. Besides this, law students from other universities are encouraged to use the library for research and study.
The NUJS library houses over 20,000 titles and, owing largely to a donation from the estate of the late Justice Durga Das Basu, contains many rare books of historical importance. The reading room has computers linked to major Indian and international online legal databases. The library is wi-fi enabled, so that students are able to access the internet from their personal computers while researching. In addition to the main library, each School of the University has its library.
The NUJS hosts a number of inter-college events. The Sports Committee of NUJS organizes one of the most popular inter-law college events in the country, known as Invicta. Law colleges from across the country participate in this three day sports festival, held in January every year. The events forming part of the meet are football, cricket
, lawn tennis, athletics, table tennis
, basketball
, volleyball
, badminton
, chess
, carrom
, cycling
and throwball
. The events are held at venues around the campus, such as the Sports Authority of India Complex, Bengal Tennis Association complex, Salt Lake Stadium
(athletics), as well as the campus itself.
The university through SJA publishes its own student-run peer reviewed law journals, the bi-annual Journal of Indian Law and Society".
The trend-setting NUJS Law Review is the official publication of NUJS and is funded directly by the University. It is independent of the SJA and its publications. It has a dedicated team of 6 editors chosen from amongst the students of NUJS. Professor M.P. Singh is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of NUJS Law Review, which is India's only quarterly law journal published by a National Law School. Conceived by Professor Singh himself, the NUJS Law Review prides itself on its unique model of functioning with an in-house team of authors who are rigorously grooomed to undertake editing and managerial responsibilities of NUJS Law Review.
The Legal Aid Society has undertaken the following categories of activities:
Students have won numerous encomiums at national and international Moot Court
competitions. In 2003, NUJS became the only Indian and second Asian college to win the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot
, held at Vienna
. In 2005, the University Moot team won the Willem C. Vis (East) International Commercial Arbitration Moot, which is held each year in Hong Kong
. The NUJS Moot teams have been regularly been reaching the 'advanced rounds' of the competition, from its debut in 2003. In 2005, NUJS also emerged as winners at the Stetson International Environmental Law Moot Court Competition at Stetson University Law School
in Gulfport, Florida
, USA. In May 2010, students of the University won the ELSA Moot Court Competition. The NUJS team has also performed well at the Phillip C. Jessup International Law Moot at Washington D.C. In 2004-05, the NUJS team won the Jessup (North Zone) National Rounds and participated at the International Rounds at Washington D.C., where they proceeded to the 'advanced rounds', and in the year 2011, they came out as the quarter-finalists in this prestigious moot court competition.
Besides the above, the University moot team has been a semi-finalist at the Asia Pacific Round of the Manfred Lachs International Space Law Moot at Sydney, Australia. In the last two editions of the biennial Commonwealth Moot Court competition, NUJS has won the national rounds on both occasions, thereby, earning a chance to represent India at the International rounds. They have been finalists and semifinalists at the International Rounds. In 2006, NUJS was selected as one of the teams to represent India at the ELSA WTO Moot Court at Geneva, Switzerland and were semi-finalists in the oral rounds of the same.
The University scored a hatrick at the NLS International Moot Court Competition on International Commercial Arbitration sponsored by Clifford Chance in May 2010 - winning it every year since its inception in 2008.
Over the years, the University Team has also won accolades at the Bar Council of India Moot, Raj Anand Intellectual Property Moot, M.M. Singhvi - Bar Council of India Moot at NLU Jodhpur, K.L.A. Moot, and several other national moot court competitions.
A large number of graduates of NUJS have been recruited by premier law firms of India and abroad by way of a student run campus recruitment process. Recruitment for the batch graduating in 2008 marked the advent of international law firms including Magic Circle
firms who have picked up students for Training Contract
s at Allen & Overy, LLP, Clifford Chance, LLP
, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, LLP, Linklaters
, Herbert Smith, LLP
among others. The domestic law firms which have recruited students from NUJS include Luthra & Luthra Law Offices, Amarchand Mangaldas, AZB & Partners
, Trilegal
, and many others. Among companies, ICICI Bank
, Reliance Infocomm, Tata Sons
, Infosys
and many more have recruited from campus. SEBI
the capital markets regulator in India has also recruited students from NUJS. Some graduates, albeit a minuscule number, pursue careers in litigation by joining the chambers of Senior Advocates in the Supreme Court of India
or various High Courts & Trial Courts. Some graduates have also embarked on a career in law teaching. NUJS graduates have been recruited by the School of Law, Singapore Management University
, NLS and NUJS itself as assistant professors and lecturers.
However, some graduates prefer not to sit for the recruitment process. Instead, they decide to pursue higher education at the some of the premier universities in the country and abroad. Graduates have received many prestigious scholarships at premier universities abroad, including the Felix Scholarship to Oxford University, the Vanderbilt Scholarship (NYU), Shell Centenary Scholarship (Oxford), the J.N. Tata Endowment Scholarship, the Chevening scholarship and the Rhodes scholarship
.
Bidhan Nagar, Kolkata
Bidhannagar , or Salt Lake City as it is popularly called, is a planned satellite township in the Indian state of West Bengal. It was developed between 1958 and 1965 to accommodate the burgeoning population of Kolkata, the state capital. It is now a hub of economic and social expansion and is...
of Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
, West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. NUJS is considered one of the best amongst the elite national law schools
Autonomous law schools in India
The term Autonomous law schools in India refers to the law schools founded in India pursuant to the second-generation reforms for legal education sought to be implemented by the Bar Council of India. The first such autonomous law school was the National Law School, Bangalore which admitted its...
in India built on the five-year law degree model proposed and implemented by the Bar Council of India
Bar Council of India
The Bar Council of India is a statutory body that regulates and represents the Indian bar. It was created by Parliament under the Advocates Act, 1961. It prescribes standards of professional conduct and etiquette and exercises disciplinary jurisdiction...
.
The University offers a five year integrated B.A./BSc. LLB (Hons.) degree programme at the undergraduate level and a Master of Laws (LLM) programme at the postgraduate level. Admission to the former programme is through the Common Law Admission Test
Common Law Admission Test
Common Law Admission Test is a centralised test for admission to prominent National Law Universities in India. The test is taken after the 12th grade for admission to graduation courses in Law. This exam was conducted for the first time on 11 May 2008. A total number of 1037 seats from seven law...
, a highly competitive, nationwide common entrance examination, held jointly by the eleven national law schools. NUJS also offers MPhil and PhD degrees.
History
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
N.R. Madhava Menon, a former Professor of Law of Delhi University, and Founder-Director, National Law School of India University
National Law School of India University
The National Law School of India University is the leading institution for undergraduate and graduate legal education in India. By popular estimates, the school consistently ranks as the most prestigious law school in India...
(NLSIU), Bangalore, who is credited with revolutionizing the field of legal education in India, by starting the concept of "law schools", as opposed to the traditional law colleges prevalent before.
Other eminent personalities without whose help and active intervention the university could not have been founded, include Sh. Jyoti Basu
Jyoti Basu
Jyoti Basu was an Indian politician belonging to the Communist Party of India from West Bengal, India. He served as the Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1977 to 2000, making him the longest-serving Chief Minister of any Indian state. Basu was a member of the CPI Politburo from the time of the...
, a former Chief Minister of West Bengal who, was a Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
barrister himself, Sh. Somnath Chatterjee
Somnath Chatterjee
Somnath Chatterjee is an Indian politician who had been associated with the Communist Party of India for most of his life, though he is currently an independent...
, a former Speaker of the Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...
, also a Middle Temple barrister and a leading member of the Calcutta Bar Library, and Justice
Justice
Justice is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics; justice is the act of being just and/or fair.-Concept of justice:...
Chittotosh Mookerjee, a former Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court and also of the Bombay High Court and the (Acting) Governor of Maharashtra. Justice Mookerjee was the university's Honourary Treasurer, and has been associated with the work of the university since its inception in 1999. The NUJS is an autonomous university.
In the first two years of its existence, NUJS did not have a permanent campus. Classes, which started in 2000, were held at Aranya Bhavan, where the Enviornment Ministry of the Government of West Bengal is located, and the first batches of students started living in government flats. On 28 October 2002, the University's present-day permanent campus was inaugurated by the then Chief Justice of India, B N Kirpal. In 2006, NUJS was allotted a 50 acres (202,343 m²) plot in Rajarhat
Rajarhat
Rajarhat Gopalpur , a neighbourhood of Calcutta, located in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, is a fast-growing planned new city. It is situated near the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport. Many high-profile industrialists of national and international standing are...
, an upscale township, which is being developed by the West Bengal government.
According to Professor Mahendra P Singh
Mahendra P Singh
Mahendra Pal Singh , popularly known as M.P. Singh, is a renowned Constitutional Law scholar of India. He is best known amongst students of Constitution of India for being the revising author of V.N. Shukla's Constitution of India a standard textbook for lawyers on Constitution of India...
, the University's incumbent Vice Chancellor, it is NUJS's "endeavour to teach students the value of social justice so that they can help the weaker sections of society.". Majority of graduates choose to work at firms that practice corporate law, rather than as litigators, academia or in NGOs. In an article written for The Hindu, Dr Ajay Gudavarthy, a former teacher at NUJS and NLSIU, criticised both these institutions as being "tailored for the corporates" and argued that they could end up as "professional institutions without social relevance."
Academic Reputation
LexisNexis Halsbury's Law Monthly rates NUJS as a "Tier One" law school, jointly with the NALSAR University of LawNalsar University of Law
The Nalsar University of Law, or officially the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research , is a legal studies institution located in Shamirpet, Hyderabad, India. It was established in 1998 as a state university in an Act of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly...
, Hyderabad, and the National Law School of India University
National Law School of India University
The National Law School of India University is the leading institution for undergraduate and graduate legal education in India. By popular estimates, the school consistently ranks as the most prestigious law school in India...
(NLSIU), Bangalore, and states that NUJS's "placement process is at par with the other two colleges in the top tier.". In 2009 Outlook (a major Indian English-language current affairs and culture magazine) ranked NUJS as the second best law school in India (behind NLSIU). In 2008, in a ranking conducted jointly by the Wall Street Journal and Mint
Mint (newspaper)
Mint is a business newspaper from HT Media Ltd, launched in collaboration with The Wall Street Journal on 1 February 2007. It is a premium business news publication aimed at decision makers and policy makers of the country and it is the first newspaper in India to be published in the Berliner...
(a business newspaper of the Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded in 1924 with roots in the Indian independence movement of the period ....
group), NUJS was rated as the third best law school in India (behind NLSIU and NALSAR), with the best "Pedagogic systems and process" amongst all law schools in the country. Overall, the survey awarded NUJS a score of 607 out of 800, while NLSIU and NALSAR achieved scores of 621 and 609 respectively. In 2010 Lawyers Update magazine ranked the faculty at NUJS as the best in India.
However, the news magazine India Today
India Today
India Today is an Indian weekly news magazine published by Living Media India Limited, in publication since 1975 based in Mumbai. India Today is also the name of its sister-publication in Hindi...
had ranked NUJS sixth in 2007, fifth in 2008 and eighth in 2009, below law schools that Halsbury's Law Monthly classifies as Tier Two and Tier Three institutions. In 2006, India Today did not even feature NUJS (along with a few other national law schools) in their rankings. India Today's 2006 rankings was criticised as having "gaping flaws" and having caused a "wave of confusion" by lawentrance.com, a website popular amongst law school aspirants. Further controversy was created when Outlook ranked NUJS fifth in 2010 from second in 2009, this demotion led to exchanges of claims and counter-claims between a faculty and student led group at NUJS and the Outlook editors.
The popular press has described NUJS as "one of the top three NLUs"(The Hindu
The Hindu
The Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...
),
"one of the most prestigious institutions for legal education in the country"(The Telegraph
The Telegraph (Kolkata)
The Telegraph is an Indian daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Kolkata since 1982. It is published by the ABP Group and the newspaper vies with the Times of India for the position of having the widest widest circulation of any newspaper in Eastern India.According to the Audit...
),and a University whose students' moot court
Moot court
A moot court is an extracurricular activity at many law schools in which participants take part in simulated court proceedings, usually to include drafting briefs and participating in oral argument. The term derives from Anglo Saxon times, when a moot was a gathering of prominent men in a...
achievements "put Kolkata on the world map in less than three years"(The Times of India
The Times of India
The Times of India is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. TOI has the largest circulation among all English-language newspaper in the world, across all formats . It is owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd...
).
| 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HT Horizon/Mint | 3 | 3 | |||
| India Today | 6 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 6 |
| Outlook | - | 5 | 2 | ||
| Lawyers Update | 2 |
Vice Chancellors
| No. | Vice Chancellor | Took office | Left office | Career highlights at NUJS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | N. R. Madhava Menon N. R. Madhava Menon N. R. Madhava Menon is a legal educator from India. He was instrumental in setting up the National Law School of India University in Bangalore, and was its founder-director. He was the founder and vice-chancellor of West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences in Calcutta, run on the... |
1999 | 2003 | Founder VC of NUJS • Founder of Legal Aid Society. |
| 02 | B. S. Chimni B. S. Chimni B. S. Chimni is an internationally renowned legal scholar. His areas of expertise include international law, international trade law and international refugee law. Currently, he is Chairperson of the Centre for International Legal Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi... |
2004 | 2006 | Founded NUJS National Moot competition. |
| 03 | Mahendra Pal Singh | 2006 | Incumbent Incumbent The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W... |
Tieup with foreign universities • Focus on infrastructure improvement • Abolition of school libraries and consolidation of central library • Overhaul of examination system. |
| 04 | P. Ishwara Bhat | 2012 | VC Designate | |
Faculty
The faculty members include former Judge of the Supreme Court of India Justice Ruma PalRuma Pal
Justice Ruma Pal was a judge of the Supreme Court of India until her retirement on June 3, 2006.She read for her B.C.L degree at St. Anne's College, Oxford and started practice in 1968 in Civil, Revenue, Labour and Constitutional matters in the Calcutta High Court...
, who was the Ford Foundation Professor of Human Rights. The former Governor of Mizoram and CBI Director, Dr. A.P.Mukherjee taught criminal law here. There is also an IPR chair headed by Shamnad Basheer who is a well known name in the field of Intellectual Property and this is sponsored by the Ministry of Human Resource and Development. The faculty includes Oxonians, a Rhodes scholar
Rhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...
, a Commonwealth Scholar
Commonwealth Scholarship
The Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan is an international programme under which Commonwealth governments offer scholarships and fellowships to citizens of other Commonwealth countries.-History:...
, a Fulbright scholar, a Felix Scholar and three Chevening Scholars
Chevening Scholarship
Chevening Scholarship is a prestigious and highly competitive scholarship scheme for international students who demonstrated leadership potential and a commitment to public service. The Chevening Scholarships are named after Chevening House in Kent, the official country residence of the Foreign...
.
Teachers in NUJS have attended Western universities like Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of Nottingham
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
, University of Essex
University of Essex
The University of Essex is a British campus university whose original and largest campus is near the town of Colchester, England. Established in 1963 and receiving its Royal Charter in 1965...
amongst others. Lecturers educated in India are alumni of institutions such as NLSIU, NALSAR University of Law, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University, also known as JNU, is located in New Delhi, the capital of India. It is mainly a research oriented postgraduate University with approximately 5,500 students and a faculty strength of around 550.-History:...
and, in a recent trend, NUJS itself. NUJS faculty has published in journals like European Intellectual Property Review
European Intellectual Property Review
The European Intellectual Property Review is a monthly journal published by Sweet & Maxwell since 1978 and dedicated to international intellectual property law. The language of publication is English....
, International Journal of Biotechnology, Journal of World Investment and Trade, Yale Journal of Law and Technology
Yale Journal of Law and Technology
The Yale Journal of Law & Technology , formerly Yale Symposium on Law & Technology, is a law review of Yale Law School....
among others.
In addition to lectures by permanent faculty members, the University organises lectures and interactive seminars attended by jurists, lawyers and academicians from India and abroad. NUJS has four major annual lectures K.C. Basu Endowment Lecture (Law & Economics), Durga Das Basu Memorial Lecture (Constitutional law), Ford Foundation Lecture (Human Rights) and Convocation Address. Visitors who have delivered other lectures include Lord Robin Auld
Robin Auld
Sir Robin Ernest Auld was a Lord Justice of Appeal in the Court of Appeal of England and Wales.Sir Robin was educated at Brooklands College and King's College London. He graduated with a first class honours degree in Law in 1958, obtained a doctorate in Law in 1963, and he became a Fellow of...
, Sir Igor Judge, Justice Zakaria Yacoob from the Constitutional Court of South Africa
Constitutional Court of South Africa
The Constitutional Court of South Africa was established in 1994 by South Africa's first democratic constitution: the Interim Constitution of 1993. In terms of the 1996 Constitution the Constitutional Court established in 1994 continues to hold office. The court began its first sessions in February...
, Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer
V. R. Krishna Iyer
Vaidyanathapura Rama Krishna Iyer , popularly known as Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer, is a former judge in the Supreme Court of India. He was born in a village in Malabar region of Kerala...
, Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah, Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
Upendranath Baxi
Upendra Baxi
Upendra Baxi is a legal scholar, since 1996 Professor of Law in Development at the University of Warwick, United Kingdom. He has been the Vice Chancellor of University of Delhi , prior to which he held the position of Professor of Law at the same University for 23 years...
, Ram Jethmalani
Ram Jethmalani
Ram Jethmalani, : राम जेठ्मलानी,: رام جيٺملاڻي born 14 September 1923, in Shikharpur in Sindh, British India) is an Indian lawyer and politician. He has served in various posts such as Union Law Minister and Chairman of Bar Associations...
, Indira Jaising
Indira Jaising
Indira Jaising is a leftist Indian lawyer. She went to school in Mumbai and graduated in Bangalore, before getting her degree in law in 1962. Jaising became the second woman to be designated as a Senior Advocate by the High Court of Bombay in 1986 .She became the first woman to be appointed...
, Vandana Shiva
Vandana Shiva
Vandana Shiva , is a philosopher, environmental activist, and eco feminist. Shiva, currently based in Delhi, has authored more than 20 books and over 500 papers in leading scientific and technical journals. She was trained as a physicist and received her Ph.D...
, Bibek Debroy
Bibek Debroy
Bibek Debroy is an Indian economist. Since March 2007, he has been professor at Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi. He has also been Visiting Honorary Senior Research Fellow for Institute for South Asian Studies in National University of Singapore from May 2009.Debroy studied at Ramakrishna...
, Jayati Ghosh
Jayati Ghosh
Jayati Ghosh was educated at Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University , and the University of Cambridge. Her 1984 doctoral thesis at Cambridge University was titled "Non capitalist land rent: theories and the case of North India" under the supervision of Mr T Byres.She is now Professor of...
, Helmut Goerlich, David Nimmer and Manoranjan Mohanty.
Professors from Kolkata's other institutions visit the campus and take classes. Professors from institutions such as the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, the Indian Statistical Institute
Indian Statistical Institute
Indian Statistical Institute is a public research institute and university in Kolkata's northern outskirt of Baranagar, India founded by Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in 1931...
, the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade
Indian Institute of Foreign Trade
The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade is an autonomous organization set up in 1963 by the government of India to help professionalize the country's foreign trade management and increase exports by developing human resources, generating, analyzing and disseminating data, and conducting...
, Presidency College, Kolkata
Presidency College, Kolkata
Presidency University, Kolkata, formerly Hindu College and Presidency College, is a unitary, state aided university, located in Kolkata, West Bengal. and one of the premier institutes of learning of liberal arts and sciences in India. In 2002 it was ranked number one by the weekly news magazine...
, St. Xavier's College, Calcutta
St. Xavier's College, Calcutta
St. Xavier's College is located in Kolkata, India, and is named after St. Francis Xavier, a Jesuit saint of the 16th century, who travelled to India. It is an autonomous college affiliated to the University of Calcutta. It gained autonomy in July 2006, thus becoming the first autonomous college of...
and Jadavpur University
Jadavpur University
Jadavpur University , is a premier educational and research institution in India.It is located in Kolkata, West Bengal and comprises two campuses - the main campus at Jadavpur and the new campus at Salt Lake...
often visit NUJS.
Schools
NUJS is organised into a number of Schools of study, each independent in conception and operation, yet integrated through programmes of teaching, research and extension activities. These schools of study are as follows:- The School of Criminal Justice and Administration
- The School of Economic and Business Laws
- The School of Legal Practice and Development
- The School of Private Laws and Comparative Jurisprudence
- The School of Public Law and Governance
- The School of Social Sciences
- The School of Technology, Law and Development
The Research Centres
- The Centre for Gender and Law.
- The Centre for Human Rights and Citizenship Studies
- The Centre for WTO Law
Endowed Chairs
- Ford Foundation Chair on Human Rights
- Ministry of Human Resource Development Chair on Intellectual Property Rights
The Schools and the Centres undertake projects which are funded by the Government of India, the Department of Economic Affairs, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, the Ministry of Home Affairs,the United Nations Development Programme
United Nations Development Programme
The United Nations Development Programme is the United Nations' global development network. It advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP operates in 177 countries, working with nations on their own solutions to...
and the Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
, among others.
B.A./B. Sc. LL. B (Hons.)
The admission shall be based exclusively on the performance in the Common Law Admission TestCommon Law Admission Test
Common Law Admission Test is a centralised test for admission to prominent National Law Universities in India. The test is taken after the 12th grade for admission to graduation courses in Law. This exam was conducted for the first time on 11 May 2008. A total number of 1037 seats from seven law...
(CLAT). However, to qualify for admission, the candidate:
(a) Must have passed the Higher Secondary School Examination (10+2) or an examination equivalent thereof, securing, in aggregate, not less than 50% in all the core subjects and English put together.
(b) Must not have completed 20 years of age as on day of admission.
The five-year undergraduate course is divided into ten semesters and enrolls 125 students every year. The students represent almost all the States of India and a few join from foreign countries. This programme offers advanced legal education with an emphasis on critical thinking and self-enquiry on the one hand and acquisition of practical skills and knowledge on the other.
LL.M programme
The LL.M degree course is a two-year post graduate course. This programme is interested in attracting students who either wish to join the academia or seek to acquire advanced research skills before joining the legal profession. The admission is based exclusively on the performance in the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT). However, to qualify for admission, the candidate should have secured LL.B. degree or its equivalent from a recognized University, having obtained not less than 55% marks in the aggregate.The LL.M. programme comprises a range of compulsory and optional courses and a dissertation to be completed within a time frame of four semesters. In the first semester, the students are expected to complete three compulsory courses. In each of the second and third semesters, they have to complete three optional courses respectively. These courses are identified by the Post Graduate Council (PGC) of the University in consultation with its Faculty Council. Students are allowed to make their suggestions regarding choices/preferences of any subject or subjects to the PGC which is given due consideration. A dissertation is to be written in the fourth semester on an approved topic. The students are expected to make presentations on their dissertation one month in advance to their submission and also take up independent teaching assignments on certain subjects.
Research Programmes
NUJS offers three research programmes M. Phil, PhD and LL.D.The M. Phil Degree Programme is designed for legal academics i.e., students who wish to pursue sustained independent study and research and are planning careers in law teaching.
The Postgraduate Council (PGC) constitutes an Advisory Committee of three members for each M.Phil student. Each student will be under the supervision of a Faculty member (Faculty Advisor). The candidate will be eligible for receipt of the degree only if he/she completes the prescribed requirements of the course within a maximum period of three years.
The PhD and LL.D degrees are two of the most advanced law degrees. The candidates to these degrees are expected to produce a thesis that will constitute a substantial and valuable contribution to legal scholarship. Since the doctoral programme is designed to train law teachers, having the opportunity to practice teaching skills is critical. The candidate is therefore given teaching assignments in addition to making presentations before the faculty community.
Post Graduate Diploma
NUJS also offers Post Graduate Diploma programs in various specialised legal disciplines like business law (in partnership with Rainmaker, the firm which provides logistical support in conducting All India Bar Exam), company law (in partnership with Larsen & ToubroLarsen & Toubro
Larsen & Toubro Limited is an Indian multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Mumbai, India. The company has four main business sectors: technology, engineering, construction and manufacturing. L&T has an international presence, with a global spread of offices and factories, further...
, one of India's largest engineering and construction conglomerate), Post-Graduate Executive Diploma in Business Management and Law (in partnership with IIM Shillong), space law, Human rights law etc.
Campuses and Hostels
NUJS's main campus is located on a 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) plot in Salt Lake City, overseeing the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass
Eastern Metropolitan Bypass
The Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, or simply E.M. Bypass, is a major road on the east side of Kolkata that connects Bidhannagar on the northeast to southern parts of Kolkata. It was designed like a bypass or beltway on the eastern side of Kolkata to lessen the perennial traffic congestion on the...
. The National Institute of Fashion Technology
National Institute of Fashion Technology
National Institute of Fashion Technology is a prestigious fashion institute in India. It was set up in 1986 under the aegis of the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India and is a premier institution in design, management and technology, developing professionals leadership positions in the...
and the College of Leather Technology border the Campus. The Hyatt Regency and the ITC Sheraton Sonar Bangla, two of Kolkata's largest luxury hotels are situated close to the Campus. The Salt Lake Campus was designed by the architectural firm Ghosh,Bose and Associates, which also designed the Hyatt Regency. Like the Hyatt Regency, NUJS' central building is an example of the Modernist
Modern architecture
Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...
school of architecture, characterised by minimalist design and open spaces. The front facade has a large, standalone, Neo-Doric style
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
column that also acts as a support (this has been nicknamed by students as the "Pillar of Justice").
NUJS's Rajarhat
Rajarhat
Rajarhat Gopalpur , a neighbourhood of Calcutta, located in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, is a fast-growing planned new city. It is situated near the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport. Many high-profile industrialists of national and international standing are...
Campus is yet to be built. No significant construction has been undertaken and the land lies vacant.
Admission to the hostels is conducted simultaneously with admission to the University. Although most students reside in the hostels for the entire duration of their course, some local residents choose to live off campus in their homes. The hostels have a mess serving vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals. Every floor of the six- storeyed hostels has 26 single rooms and 12 double rooms. Hostel rooms are equipped with round-the-clock internet access.
The hostels have their own rules of discipline, which are primarily administered by the Wardens in association with students. Self-governance is encouraged for which powers are delegated to select student representatives. The hostel mess is managed by a Mess Committee managed by the residents themselves. There is a doctor available for consultation, who visits the hostel regularly. This apart, the University organizes medical help whenever needed through tie-ups with hospitals located in the Salt Lake area. The Corporation Bank
Corporation Bank
Corporation Bank is an India-based banking company based in Mangalore, India. The bank was founded with an initial capital of Rs. 5000 , and first day’s canvassed resources of less than one USD 1, has currently 12,724 full time employees, and operates from several branches in India.The Bank is a...
, a public sector undertaking, has opened a branch inside the campus and offers banking facilities, including an ATM facility.
Other landmarks within walking distance from the campus include the Yuva Bharati Krirangan
Salt Lake Stadium
Salt Lake Stadium , is a multi-purpose stadium in Bidhannagar, Kolkata, West Bengal.-Information:...
(one of the world's largest football stadiums), the Bengal Tennis Academy, the multiplex 89 Cinemas, the Nicco Super Bowl bowling alley, the Stadel resort hotel, Apollo Gleneagles Hospital, AMRI Hospital, the Abcos Food Plaza and the supermarkets Charnock City and Food Bazaar. The campus is also a fifteen minutes' drive away from Kolkata's famous Park Street
Park Street, Kolkata
Mother Teresa Sarani, formerly Park Street and still often called by that name, and originally Burial Ground Road, is a street in the city of Kolkata , India. The street runs through what was a deer park of Sir Elijah Impey, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in Calcutta from 1773 to 1789, hence...
, a location that has been at the heart of the city's nightlife since the days of the British Raj and whose restaurants have been credited with having launched some of India's earliest jazz and rock musicians. Tangra
Chinatown, Kolkata
Chinatown in the eastern part of the city of Kolkata is the only Chinatown in India. The locality was once home to 20,000 ethnic Chinese, now the population has dropped to 2,000 or so. The traditional occupation of the Chinese community here had been working in the nearby tanning industry and the...
, South Asia's only Chinatown
Chinatown
A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...
, is also situated a few minutes' drive away from the Campus, and its eateries are a popular haunt amongst students.
University Library
The university has a large law library. It also has a considerably large social science section. Journals such as the Harvard and Cambridge Law Reviews, the Law Reviews of the respective National Law Universities of India, such as the NLSIU and NALSAR, the journals of the Indian Law Istitute and the Bar Council of India and reputed social science journals such as the Social Scientist, Indian Economic and Social History Review, and the Studies in History are also kept in the library.The NUJS library houses over 20,000 titles and, owing largely to a donation from the estate of the late Justice Durga Das Basu, contains many rare books of historical importance. The reading room has computers linked to major Indian and international online legal databases. The library is wi-fi enabled, so that students are able to access the internet from their personal computers while researching. In addition to the main library, each School of the University has its library.
Sports facilities
The Salt Lake Campus has limited sports facilities and the University authorities have attempted to compensate for this by arranging a tie-up with the Sports Authority of India, whose sports complex is located a few metres away from the University. The campus has facilities for indoor sports, and has a gymnasium for use by the staff and students.The NUJS hosts a number of inter-college events. The Sports Committee of NUJS organizes one of the most popular inter-law college events in the country, known as Invicta. Law colleges from across the country participate in this three day sports festival, held in January every year. The events forming part of the meet are football, cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, lawn tennis, athletics, table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
, chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
, carrom
Carrom
Carrom is a family of tabletop games with gameplay that lies somewhere between billiards and table shuffleboard. Carrom is known by many names around the world, including carrum, couronne, carum, karam, karom, karum, fatta and finger billiards...
, cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
and throwball
Throwball
Throwball is a non-contact ball sport played across a net between two teams of seven players on a rectangular court. Throwball is popular in Asia, especially on the Indian subcontinent, and was first played in India as a women's sport in Chennai during the 1940s. Like volleyball, the game's roots...
. The events are held at venues around the campus, such as the Sports Authority of India Complex, Bengal Tennis Association complex, Salt Lake Stadium
Salt Lake Stadium
Salt Lake Stadium , is a multi-purpose stadium in Bidhannagar, Kolkata, West Bengal.-Information:...
(athletics), as well as the campus itself.
Student Juridical Association
The student body of the University is known as the Student Juridical Association (SJA). The SJA has an elected President and Vice President, along with two administrative office bearers, the Administrative Secretary and the Treasurer. The SJA has an Executive Council which is constituted by representatives from the various Student Committees of the SJA and an elected Class Representative from each of the five batches of students. The Student Committees of the SJA are committees for encouraging, organising and playing an administrative role in extracurricular activities within the student body. Such committees include the Moot Court Society, Cultural Committee, Literary and Debating Society, Sports Committee, etc.The university through SJA publishes its own student-run peer reviewed law journals, the bi-annual Journal of Indian Law and Society".
The trend-setting NUJS Law Review is the official publication of NUJS and is funded directly by the University. It is independent of the SJA and its publications. It has a dedicated team of 6 editors chosen from amongst the students of NUJS. Professor M.P. Singh is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of NUJS Law Review, which is India's only quarterly law journal published by a National Law School. Conceived by Professor Singh himself, the NUJS Law Review prides itself on its unique model of functioning with an in-house team of authors who are rigorously grooomed to undertake editing and managerial responsibilities of NUJS Law Review.
Legal Aid Society
The Legal Aid Society has undertaken the following categories of activities:
- Legal Aid Clinic and Counseling: The Legal Aid Clinic has been set up as a permanent body to provide free legal advice and resolution of disputes without long drawn and expensive litigation. This is done by providing legal and para-legal assistance. The clinic is presided over by the Faculty Advisor, Shri N.Konar, a former judge. Assistance is also provided by other former Judges in the faculty. The Clinic has been functional since 9 November 2002 and has tendered advise to several cases.
- Human Rights and Public Education: For empowering people through legal education and instilling in them consciousness about their rights and duties. This is done through field visits in semi-urban and rural areas as well as publicized seminars and workshops within the university itself.
- Youth for Social Justice: A social awareness program that targets young people with the objective of ingraining in impressionable minds a sense of social justice.
- Law Enforcement Assistance: This subcommittee works with law enforcement authorities such as the police, Government, pollution control board, for providing an interface to people in order to promote legal awareness and law-enforcement.
- Para Legal Services and Training: The purpose of this activity is to build relationships with other agencies that work in the field such as NGOs, to facilitate exchange of information. The Society seeks to provide training and services in the form of documental consultancy and research to these agencies.
- Public Interest Advocacy Support services: In the form of documentation, obtaining empirical data and other allied research are to be provided for public advocacy of popular concerns and public interest litigations.
- Lok Adalat and ADR assistance: As part of its goal to encourage alternate dispute resolution, the Legal Aid Society organizes Lok Adalats in association with the W.B. Legal Aid Authority. Till date one Lok Adalat, specially for women was held in November 2003.
Mooting achievements
Moot court
A moot court is an extracurricular activity at many law schools in which participants take part in simulated court proceedings, usually to include drafting briefs and participating in oral argument. The term derives from Anglo Saxon times, when a moot was a gathering of prominent men in a...
competitions. In 2003, NUJS became the only Indian and second Asian college to win the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot
Willem C. Vis Moot
The Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot is a prestigious international moot court competition for law students. Since 1994, it is annually being held in Vienna, Austria....
, held at Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. In 2005, the University Moot team won the Willem C. Vis (East) International Commercial Arbitration Moot, which is held each year in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. The NUJS Moot teams have been regularly been reaching the 'advanced rounds' of the competition, from its debut in 2003. In 2005, NUJS also emerged as winners at the Stetson International Environmental Law Moot Court Competition at Stetson University Law School
Stetson University Law School
Stetson University College of Law, founded in 1900, is Florida's first law school. Located in Gulfport, FL , it also has a campus in Tampa, FL. The law school occupies a historic 1920s resort hotel, the Rolyat...
in Gulfport, Florida
Gulfport, Florida
Gulfport is a city in Pinellas County, Florida and a suburb of St. Petersburg. The population of Gulfport was 12,527 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau was 12,740. Gulfport is part of the Tampa-St...
, USA. In May 2010, students of the University won the ELSA Moot Court Competition. The NUJS team has also performed well at the Phillip C. Jessup International Law Moot at Washington D.C. In 2004-05, the NUJS team won the Jessup (North Zone) National Rounds and participated at the International Rounds at Washington D.C., where they proceeded to the 'advanced rounds', and in the year 2011, they came out as the quarter-finalists in this prestigious moot court competition.
Besides the above, the University moot team has been a semi-finalist at the Asia Pacific Round of the Manfred Lachs International Space Law Moot at Sydney, Australia. In the last two editions of the biennial Commonwealth Moot Court competition, NUJS has won the national rounds on both occasions, thereby, earning a chance to represent India at the International rounds. They have been finalists and semifinalists at the International Rounds. In 2006, NUJS was selected as one of the teams to represent India at the ELSA WTO Moot Court at Geneva, Switzerland and were semi-finalists in the oral rounds of the same.
The University scored a hatrick at the NLS International Moot Court Competition on International Commercial Arbitration sponsored by Clifford Chance in May 2010 - winning it every year since its inception in 2008.
Over the years, the University Team has also won accolades at the Bar Council of India Moot, Raj Anand Intellectual Property Moot, M.M. Singhvi - Bar Council of India Moot at NLU Jodhpur, K.L.A. Moot, and several other national moot court competitions.
Alumni
Magic Circle (law)
The "Magic Circle" is an informal term used to collectively describe what are generally regarded to be the five leading UK-headquartered law firms and the four or five leading London-based commercial barristers' chambers.-Law firms:...
firms who have picked up students for Training Contract
Training contract
A training contract is a compulsory period of practical training in a law firm for law graduates before they can qualify as a solicitor in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Australia or Hong Kong...
s at Allen & Overy, LLP, Clifford Chance, LLP
Clifford Chance
Clifford Chance LLP is a global law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom and a member of the 'Magic Circle' of leading UK law firms. It is one of the ten largest law firms in the world measured by both number of lawyers and revenue...
, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, LLP, Linklaters
Linklaters
Linklaters LLP is a global law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom and a member of the 'Magic Circle' of leading UK law firms. Linklaters is the world's fourth largest global law firm by revenue. In 2009/10 it received total revenues of £1.18 billion and profits per equity partner of £1.2...
, Herbert Smith, LLP
Herbert Smith
Herbert Smith LLP is an international law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The firm has offices in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The firm was founded in the City of London in 1882 by Norman Herbert Smith and today has 240 partners and 1,300 fee-earners.-History:The firm was...
among others. The domestic law firms which have recruited students from NUJS include Luthra & Luthra Law Offices, Amarchand Mangaldas, AZB & Partners
AZB & Partners
AZB & Partners is one of the top three corporate law firms in India, active in corporate law, M&A transactions and fund-raising for corporations with offices in New Delhi, Bombay and Bangalore. Zia Mody, is the managing partner of the firm. The other partners are Ajay Bahl, Bahram Vakil and Anup...
, Trilegal
Trilegal
Trilegal is a law firm based in India with over 100 lawyers across offices in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi. The firm provides services in areas of real estate, infrastructure, energy, technology and IT enabled services, M&A, Capital Markets, Private Equity, capital funds, corporate...
, and many others. Among companies, ICICI Bank
ICICI Bank
ICICI Bank Ltd. is India's second largest financial services company headquartered in Mumbai, India. It offers a wide range of banking products and financial services to corporate and retail customers through a variety of delivery channels and through its specialised subsidiaries in the areas of...
, Reliance Infocomm, Tata Sons
Tata Sons
Tata Sons is a promoter of the key companies of the Tata Group and holds the bulk of shareholding in these companies. It was established as a trading enterprise by Group founder Jamsetji Tata in 1868...
, Infosys
Infosys
Infosys Limited, formerly Infosys Technologies Limited is a global technology services company headquartered in Bangalore, India. It is the second largest IT exporter in India with 133,560 employees as of March 2011. It has offices in 33 countries and development centers in India, China,...
and many more have recruited from campus. SEBI
Securities and Exchange Board of India
The Securities and Exchange Board of India is the regulator for the securities market in India.-History:It was formed officially by the Government of India in 1992 with SEBI Act 1992 being passed by the Indian Parliament...
the capital markets regulator in India has also recruited students from NUJS. Some graduates, albeit a minuscule number, pursue careers in litigation by joining the chambers of Senior Advocates in the Supreme Court of India
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India...
or various High Courts & Trial Courts. Some graduates have also embarked on a career in law teaching. NUJS graduates have been recruited by the School of Law, Singapore Management University
Singapore Management University
The Singapore Management University was officially incorporated on January 12, 2000, and was Singapore's first private university funded by the government...
, NLS and NUJS itself as assistant professors and lecturers.
However, some graduates prefer not to sit for the recruitment process. Instead, they decide to pursue higher education at the some of the premier universities in the country and abroad. Graduates have received many prestigious scholarships at premier universities abroad, including the Felix Scholarship to Oxford University, the Vanderbilt Scholarship (NYU), Shell Centenary Scholarship (Oxford), the J.N. Tata Endowment Scholarship, the Chevening scholarship and the Rhodes scholarship
Rhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...
.
External links
- Official website
- NUJS Law Review
- The NUJS Blogs: A blog run by the students of the NUJS Magazine Committee, contains news and updates about the college
- OUTLAWED: The Annual NUJS Fest - official website
- "The Law School Experience", The Hindu
- "Quota at IIMs, IITs will not help disadvantaged: Narayanamurthy", The Hindu
- "The Society for Global Democracy",
- "Leading law schools of India"