The National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR) was established in 1998 by a statute of the State of Andhra Pradesh. Since its inception, the University has been home to vital conversations on law and justice. These conversations have acknowledged that questions of justice arise in all legal pursuits whether in the world of courts, corporations, education or administration. Using law as an instrument of social change the University has supported crusades for land rights, disability empowerment and against moral policing and hate speech. NALSAR is committed to the creation of an ethical legal culture, which protects and promotes the rule of law. The social justice agenda is no laughing matter but the University believes that the cause of building a rule of law society is a continuous enterprise, which is sustainable if it is undertaken with optimism and good cheer.
Academic Programmes
The Academic community at NALSAR is formed by the core faculty who are working full time at the University, drive the University’s academic policy, lead research and transact courses. The elective program of the University includes the visiting faculty who are drawn from grassroots advocates, corporate officials, practicing lawyers, and inter-disciplinary scholars.
B.A. LL.B. (Honours) Program
Till May 2012, our BA LLB (Honours) program was driven by mandatory courses, what with 47 of the 50 courses being mandatory. Upon re-evaluating the undergraduate course it was found that the one size fits all approach did not bring out the best in all students as many of the mandatory course did not interest them. Consequently, from June 2012 NALSAR moved to a credit based elective system, which requires students to earn 200 credits over a period of five years to earn the degree.
Admission to the 5-Year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) Degree Programme is made strictly on merit, based on a Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) at different centres across the country. To be eligible for admission, a candidate should have passed the 10 + 2 or equivalent examination with not less than 45% marks in the aggregate (40% in case of reserved categories, i.e., S.C. / S.T./Persons with disability).
Master of Laws (LL.M.) program
Till 2012, Master of Laws program at NALSAR offered a range of specializations on strictly segregated basis. Students were required to opt for their specialized stream at the start of the course and then appeared for the various papers listed in the specialization. In 2012 it was decided to loosen the stranglehold of specialization by permitting students to opt for an optional paper from a stream different than their specialization.
In 2013, the one year LLM was introduced. Specializations were offered in a range of streams, however in a departure from the earlier system, it was decided that students would reach and not opt for a specialization. Thus if a student opted for four or more papers in a particular stream, then the student would be awarded a LLM degree in that specialization. However if that does not happen the student would be awarded a general LLM. A student not opting to go for any particular specialization would be awarded a general LL.M. by the end of the course. A large number of students in the current batch have opted for the general LLM.
Placements
NALSAR recognises the importance of internships and placements in shaping the careers of the students. NALSAR has partnered with both leading as well as upcoming organisations where legal skills developed in law school can be tested and honed by the students. In the previous years, top tier law firms and niche firms—both Indian and International—corporate houses, Public Sector Undertakings, regulatory bodies have regularly recruited from NALSAR. The vision is about continuing and strengthening the relationship with the existing recruiters whilst striving to expand the recruitment base by also forging conversations with organisations and people who have not recruited before. In doing so, the aim is to cater to the diverse interests of the students by reaching out to not merely corporate entities and law firms but also to legal practitioners, law and policy research organisations and also various fellowships.
Library
The NALSAR Law Library is one of the largest law libraries in the country, not just in terms of the number of titles, but in terms of capacity as well. The library is a host to more than 30,000 titles covering various fields of study ranging from law to social sciences. Subscriptions have been made to more than 100 newspapers, magazines and journals. The reference section of the library stocks complete volume sets of the most prestigious and well known journals and compilations in the field of law. The library has subscribed to various online databases such as WestLaw, HeinOnline, Kluwer Arbitration, Manupatra, SCC Online, Economic and Political Weekly, JStor, etc. The library is currently in the process of creating a proposal for obtaining access to case records at the various levels of the Indian judicial system and is seeking to generate an oral archive of testimonies surrounding landmark legal developments—cases, legislations or law reform initiatives.
Working hours are 9 AM to 1 AM on weekdays; 9 AM to 8 PM on Saturdays; and 9 AM to 5 PM on Sundays. Books can be issued by the holders of library cards on the weekdays.
Contact
NALSAR University of Law
Post Box No.1,
Justice City, Shameerpet, Medchal District,
Hyderabad – 500078, Telangana.
Fax: +91 40 23498385/8386
E-mail: admissions@nalsar.ac.in
