The National Law School of India University (NLSIU) is a very bold experiment in the field of legal education. The decision to launch this experiment was the result of co-operation among the Bench, the Bar Council of India and academics,” says the registrar and professor of law, V. Vijayakumar, NLSIU.

The university was established under the National Law School of India University Act (Karnataka Act 22 of 1986), which gave full administrative and academic freedom to a law school in India for the first time. The Chief Justice of India is its chancellor and the chairman of the Bar Council of India is the chairman of its general council. “The Justice Ahmadi Committee Recommendation states that NLSIU should be the model for establishing similar institutions in every state,” says Vijayakumar.

Vital Statistics WHAT IS IT? A fully residential law university in Bangalore. WHO’S THE registrar? V. Vijayakumar. WHAT courses are offered? BA, LLB (honours), LLM, MPhil, PhD and LLD. WHen did the first BA, LLB (Honours) batch graduate? In 1993. Does it offer scholarships? Yes. WHere is it located? National Law School of India, Nagarbhavi, Bangalore-560072. Telephone: 080-23160532 / 33 / 35 Fax: 080-23160534 E-mail: registrar@nls.ac.in Website: www.nls.ac.in

On a mission

Originally housed in a building on the Central College campus, Bangalore, NLSIU is now a fully residential institute. The first batch of BA, LLB (hons) students graduated in 1993. Graduates have been high achievers since the beginning. The first batch won the Bar Council of India Moot Court competition. “Placement training that is compulsory from the third year and optional in the first two years provides for the practical training required,” says the registrar.

Many graduates have set up or are working with well-known law firms, or are teaching at NLSIU and other universities in India and abroad. Graduates have also bagged prestigious scholarships to Harvard, Yale, Michigan, Oxford, Cambridge and other foreign universities.

Those who have passed Plus Two with 50 per cent marks and are less than 20 years of age on July 1 of the year of admission can take the admission test for the BA, LLB (honours) programme. What is unique is the “trimester scheme with emphasis on learning skills, varied teaching methods and enriching co and extracurricular activities”, says Vijayakumar. The institute also offers the LLM, MPhil, PhD and doctorate of law (LLD) programmes. Since legal education is expensive — the BA, LLB (honours) programme costs Rs 50,000 per year — NLSIU offers scholarships and fee concessions to needy students.

The university runs a student exchange programme that lets its students gain international experience. Duke University, US, York University, Canada, and National University of Singapore, Singapore, have signed MoUs with NLSIU to offer exchange programmes. The university “is being recognised globally with NLSIU becoming a founding member of the Asian Law Institute, Singapore, and the International Association of Law Schools, Washington DC”, says the registrar.

Facilities on campus are among the best in India. There are separate residence halls for men and women with student-managed kitchens, a canteen, sports facilities, bank facilities, a health centre and an excellent library. Vijayakumar says that NLSIU has “moved forward in leaps and bounds” technologically. It is WiFi-enabled, has e-classrooms and allows teachers to put course material on the interactive web portal, Brihaspati. The university offers UGC programmes to train law college teachers “to integrate IT in teaching”, Vijayakumar says. It also organises, with Stanford University, the annual alternate dispute resolution competition by video conference.

All for a better world

NLSIU is striving to improve its distinguished programmes, some of which are funded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the National Human Rights Commission, and the Union ministries of commerce, social justice and empowerment and human resources development. “The university would like to focus more on training law teachers, on streamlining the distance education programmes and on strengthening research to make the outcome more socially relevant in the future,” says the registrar.

The institute will surely continue to play a leading role in legal activism both in India and at the international level.

Satarupa Sengupta

OLD MEMORIES

Sarasu Esther Thomas, assistant professor, NLSIU, recalls her student days

The two things I valued most were the freedom available to students to choose their coursework and contribute views in class, and the freedom to find a unique space, whether in legal services, moot courts or in co-curricular activities. New courses and new initiatives by students have made the university what it is today. The student body’s interests are diverse.

Many people associate the legal profession with glamour. But in the end, it is aptitude that is needed for success. NLSIU’s students have always kept that in mind.

As told to Satarupa Sengupta