National Law School of India University

National Law School of India University
Motto	Dharmo Rakshati Rakshata ("Those who protect justice are protected by justice")
Established	1987
Type	National University
Chancellor	The Chief Justice of India
Vice-Chancellor	R. Venkata Rao
Undergraduates	400
Postgraduates	100
Location	Bangalore, Karnataka, India (12°57′19″N 77°31′02″E / 12.955149°N 77.517305°E / 12.955149; 77.517305Coordinates: 12°57′19″N 77°31′02″E / 12.955149°N 77.517305°E / 12.955149; 77.517305)
Campus	Urban
Website	http://www.nls.ac.in/

The National Law School of India University (NLSIU) 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.^[1] The National Academy of Legal Studies and Research University (NALSAR), located in Hyderabad, is the school's closest competitor in this regard.^[2]

Located in Bangalore, NLSIU was established by statute through the Legislative Assembly of the State of Karnataka.^[3] The school was officially founded on August 29, 1987. By statute, the Chief Justice of India ceremonially serves as the school's Chancellor. The Vice-Chancellor, currently R. Venkata Rao, serves as the school's chief administrator.

History

In 1987, NLSIU was established under the stewardship of its founder, then Vice-Chancellor N. R. Madhava Menon. Since that time, the school has had four more Vice-Chancellors, including now incumbent R. Venkata Rao who took over this leadership role in 2009. Previously, N. R. Madhava Menon, N. L. Mitra, A. Jayagovind and G. Mohan Gopal have held the position of Vice-Chancellor.

The first batch of law students joined the school's undergraduate program on July 1, 1988. Interestingly, classes commenced before all the school's buildings had been fully constructed; thus, NLSIU actually began instruction at the premises of the Central College of Bangalore University and continued therein until November 1991. Then, the school formally moved to its present-day location in Nagarbhavi, a suburb of Bangalore.

Courses of Study

Undergraduate

NLSIU offers undergraduates a five-year integrated B.A./LL.B. program which, upon completion, qualifies the student to sit for the bar to practice law in India.

The LL.B. is the standard undergraduate degree in law offered in most common law countries.^[4] The United States is the only common law nation that no longer offers the LL.B. degree. While the LL.B. was conferred by Yale University until 1971, all U.S. law schools have since conferred the professional doctorate J.D.^[5]

The undergraduate B.A./LL.B. curriculum at NLSIU consists of a mix of social science and legal subjects. In the first two years, the law student attends courses on history, political science, sociology and economics alongside standard legal subjects, such as torts, contracts and constitutional law. In the latter three years, legal subjects dominate the curriculum.

Postgraduate

NLSIU's various postgraduate programs, leading to the LL.M., M.Phil., LL.D. and/or Ph.D. degrees, all aim at producing leading research scholars in all forms of legal academic pursuit, from legal history to jurisprudence. Therefore, postgraduate students are designated Research Scholars by the school.

For LL.M. postgraduates, NLSIU presently offers two lines of specialization: Business Law and Human Rights Law. There are currently 25 seats for Human Rights Law and 25 seats for Business Law. Two seats are reserved for foreign nationals. Students are selected by merit through the nationally-administered Common Law Admission Test (CLAT). A detailed prospectus can be obtained from NLSIU on payment of the requisite fee.

In addition to the above full-time programs, NLSIU also offers several part-time distance learning programs, including a Masters Degree in Business Law and Postgraduate Diploma programs in Human Rights Law, Medical Law, Environmental Law and IP Law.

Melgiri Memorial National Law Library

The Narayan Rao Melgiri Memorial National Law Library at NLSIU is the largest law library in the country, housing a collection of over 40,000 bound volumes in addition to periodical holdings.^[6][7][8]

The Melgiri Library was inaugurated by Chief Justice of India R.C. Lahoti on August 27, 2005.^[9] The library was built through generous contributions from the University Grants Commission (India), New Delhi and Chairwoman Sudha Murthy of the Infosys Foundation.^[10]

UNHCR Chair for Refugee Law

In 1995, the first UNHCR Chair for Refugee Law was inaugurated at NLSIU.^[11] N. Subramanya worked on the refugee issue during his tenure UNHCR Chair.^[12]

Student activities

The Student Bar Association

The Student Bar Association (SBA) is the umbrella body that coordinates all student activities; all students are de facto members of the SBA. The SBA has created various Activity-Based Committees (ABCs) which are in charge of specific student activities.^[13]

NLSIU has a total of twelve ABCs which coordinate the activities of the Student Bar Association (SBA). These committees are re-constituted every year. The Co-ordination Council consists of the Convenors/Joint Convenors of the ABCs. This Council is responsible for ensuring that the various ABCs function coherently. A wide range of internal as well as inter-institutional activities throughout the academic year are organized by the ABCs and the Co-ordination Council.

Competitive debate

NLSIU plays an active role in promoting Parliamentary Debate in India. The school regularly participates in many international competitions and is currently the highest-ranking Indian team in the World rankings.^[14] NLSIU reached the ESL Finals in 2002 and in 2007 at the World Universities Debating Championship. It also recently won the 15th All Asian Debating Championships held in Dhaka in 2008, with 3 out of the 4 semi-finalist teams, and 6 of the top 10 speakers, being from NLSIU. Another boost for the Parliamentary Debate movement in NLSIU came in the form of the Cambridge University Debate Competition 2009, where the NLSIU team became the first South Asian team to reach the second round of the competition.^[15] NLSIU has also performed extremely well in the inaugural Asians BP Tournament held in Chulalongkorn University, with all three of its teams reaching the semi finals of the tournament, and two out of the top ten speakers (and four in the top 20).

Moot Court competition

In Moot Court competition, NLSIU is the only law school in South Asia to have won the Jessup Cup.^[16] NLSIU emerged as the 2009 World Champion of the Manfred Lachs Space Moot Court Competition, defeating Georgetown University School of Law in the final held at Daejeon, South Korea.^[17]

Journals published

• National Law School of India Review, NLSIU's law review
• Indian Journal of Law and Technology^[18]
• Socio-Legal Review^[19]

References

1. ^ News, False. "India Today, Outlook Come With Law College Rankings: NLSIU First, Rest Jumbled - Reader Blogs on Legally India: Uncut". Legally India. http://www.legallyindia.com/936-india-today-outlook-come-with-law-college-rankings-nlsiu-first-rest-jumbled. Retrieved 2011-09-24. 
2. ^ "NLS Bangalore wins back top law school, ousts Hyderabad (UPDATE 1) | Law schools". Legally India. 2009-06-15. http://www.legallyindia.com/2009061556/Law-schools/nls-bangalore-voted-top-law-school-again-ousts-hyderabad. Retrieved 2011-09-24. 
3. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
4. ^ John H. Langbein, “Scholarly and Professional Objectives in Legal Education: American Trends and English Comparisons,” Pressing Problems in the Law, Volume 2: What are Law Schools For?, Oxford University Press, 1996.
5. ^ Association of American Universities Data Exchange. Glossary of Terms for Graduate Education. Accessed May 26, 2008; National Science Foundation (2006). “Time to Degree of U.S. Research Doctorate Recipients,” ‘'InfoBrief, Science Resource Statistics NSF 06-312, 2006, p. 7. (under "Data notes" mentions that the J.D. is a professional doctorate); San Diego County Bar Association (1969). ‘'Ethics Opinion 1969-5. Accessed May 26, 2008. (under “other references” discusses differences between academic and professional doctorate, and statement that the J.D. is a professional doctorate); University of Utah (2006). University of Utah – The Graduate School – Graduate Handbook. Accessed May 28, 2008. (the J.D. degree is listed under doctorate degrees)
6. ^ http://india.studybot.org/bangalore/national-law-school-of-india-university/
7. ^ http://tumkuruniversity.in/collaborate.aspx
8. ^ http://www.keralaeducation.com/display_article.php?fid=609&arid=33
9. ^ "Karnataka / Bangalore News : Director thanks Dharam Singh". The Hindu. 2005-08-29. http://www.hindu.com/2005/08/29/stories/2005082908390500.htm. Retrieved 2011-09-24. 
10. ^ "National Law School Of India University, Bangalore - 560072, Karnataka". Saagam.com. http://saagam.com/colleges/profile.php?id=4820&college=national-law-school-of-india-university. Retrieved 2011-09-24. 
11. ^ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (1995-09-11). "Information note on UNHCR's activities for refugee law promotion, dissemination and training". UNHCR. http://www.unhcr.org/3ae68cbe8.html. Retrieved 2011-08-19. 
12. ^ V. C. Keshava, Exploring Mysore: a complete data map in a special style, V.S.R. Prakashana, 2004
13. ^ "ABC Overview". Abctabulation.wordpress.com. 2009-09-14. http://abctabulation.wordpress.com/. Retrieved 2011-08-19. 
14. ^ "World Debate Website". Flynn.debating.net. http://flynn.debating.net/colpoint.htm. Retrieved 2011-08-19. 
15. ^ "NLS Debate | Organisers". Nlsdebate.in. http://www.nlsdebate.in/organisers/. Retrieved 2011-08-19. 
16. ^ Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition
17. ^ "NLSIU makes mooting history: India wins Manfred Lachs for the first time". Barandbench.com. http://www.barandbench.com/brief/2/207/nlsiu-makes-mooting-history-india-wins-manfred-lachs-for-the-first-time. Retrieved 2011-08-19. 
18. ^ IJLT website^{[dead link]}
19. ^ SLR page on the NLSIU website^{[dead link]}

External links

• Official website
• Leading law schools in India - Indlaw
• Quirk Magazine Archive