National Law Universities (NLU) are public law schools in India, founded pursuant to the second-generation reforms for legal education sought to be implemented by the Bar Council of India. [1] [2] The first NLU was the National Law School of India University aka NLS/NLU Bangalore which admitted its first batch in 1988. Since then, most of the states in India have NLUs. Currently there are 27 NLUs across the country out of which one is an off-centre campus of Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar, GNLU SILVASSA Campus. Since the inception of NLUs, these law schools have continuously been ranked as India's most and world's one of the most prestigious and premier law schools by various agencies and are also referred as IITs of Legal Education. [3] [4]
The admissions to these universities is conducted through the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) except in the case of National Law University, Delhi, which admits students through its own entrance examination named as All India Law Entrance Test (AILET). NLU Meghalaya also has its own admission / entrance test it is anticipated that in the coming years AILET and NLU Meghalaya's separate tests will be merged into CLAT. Admission to the NLUs is extremely competitive with an acceptance rate as low as 2% to 3% in case of CLAT and approx 0.50% via AILET. CLAT which is also known as the main gateway to NLUs has been ranked as one of the top five toughest entrance examinations in India.
NLUs have Chief Justice of India (CJI) and various Chief Justices of Respective High Courts as their Chancellors and visiting professors. Many retired judges and bureaucrats are also here as permanent faculty and Vice-Chancellors.
Traditionally legal education in India was conducted through the medium of non-specialized universities of India which granted law degrees like any other graduate degree. These universities referred and taught the curriculum prescribed by the Bar Council of India, but since they were under the overall control and supervision of the University Grants Commission, therefore it was not possible for the Bar Council to effectively pursue reforms in legal education.
This system continued for more than two decades with the overall legal education supervision by the Bar Council, since its establishment in terms of the Advocates Act, 1961. [5] However, there were calls for reforms from all quarters of the country in general because of the falling standards of the bar and there were mounting pressures over the Bar Council of India to change the way legal education was imparted in India.
The first concrete decision to this end was taken in 1984 when various proposals to modernize legal education were considered and approved by the Legal Education Committee of the Bar Council, in an attempt to improve legal education throughout India. One major proposal was the decision to establish specialized institutions to impart legal education in an integrated and diversified manner. The aim was to revitalize the legal profession by making law an attractive profession and making it competitive to attract talent, which was hitherto diverted to other professional areas such as medicine and engineering.
In contrast with the existing pattern of legal education in India, the proposed autonomous law schools varied in structural design and in various other respects. Some of these can be identified through the characteristics they carry:
A Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subjects and jurisprudence to provide a comprehensive understanding of the legal system and its function. The LLB curriculum is designed to impart a thorough knowledge of legal principles, legal research skills, and a sound understanding of the roles and responsibilities of lawyers within society. This degree is often a prerequisite for taking bar exams or qualifying as a practising lawyer, depending on the jurisdiction. Additionally, the LLB program also serves as a foundation for further legal education, such as a Master of Laws (LLM) or other postgraduate studies in law.
National Law School of India University (NLSIU), or simply the National Law School(NLS), is a public law school in Bangalore, India. The school is one of the leading law schools in India, consistently ranked #1 in the National Institutional Ranking Framework for law.
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The National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR), is a public law school and a National Law University located in Shamirpet, Hyderabad, Telangana, India, and is considered as one of the best law schools in India.
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Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, also known as RMLNLU or NLU Lucknow is a public law school and a National Law University located in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was established as Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law Institute undergraduate and post-graduate legal education, later in 2006 it was renamed as RMLNLU to give a NLU touch to its name. It is one among the 26 NLUs across India and the first one established in Uttar Pradesh. It is among the top 10 National Law Universities / Law colleges in India.
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National Law University, Delhi (NLUD) is a law school in India, situated in Sector-14, Dwarka, Delhi. It offers courses at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. As one of the national law schools in India, NLUD is built on the five-year law degree model proposed and implemented by the Bar Council of India. The National Law University, Delhi, Act, 2007, provides for the Chief Justice of India or Senior Supreme Court Judge of his/her choice to be the university's visitor, the Chief Justice of the High Court of Delhi to function as the university's chancellor, and its vice-chancellor to function as the chief administrator.
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