# National Law University, Delhi

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.

## History

National Law University, Delhi was established in 2008 by Act No. 1 of 2008 of NCT Delhi in the National Capital Territory of Delhi with the initiative of the High Court of Delhi under the leadership of Ranbir Singh, the founder-director and vice-chancellor of the NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, who became the university's founding vice-chancellor. It was inaugurated by the then President of India, Pratibha Patil. The college started functioning in 2008 in temporary buildings. By the year 2010, the college had completed its construction and was fully functional.

## Academics
### Academic Programmes
#### Undergraduate

NLUD offers a five-year undergraduate, B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) program. One hundred and ten seats are offered and ten additional seats are allocated to foreign nationals, OCIs and PIOs. The undergraduate program is based on a credit system with additional seminar courses for further learning, pursuant to the interests of the students. The program consists of approximately fifty-two subjects to be studied over ten semesters, with five subjects in each semester. Students are expected to submit fifty research projects before their graduation. The curriculum remains intensive and has led to concerns about stress levels among the students.

#### Postgraduate

NLUD also offers a one-year LL.M. program. The admission is through a written test that is conducted by university followed by an interview. It additionally offers Postgraduate Diploma program in Urban Environmental Management, Judging and Court Management, and IPR and Patent, Law along a with Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D). NLUD is also introduced new IP Joint Master/LLM Program in colloboration with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and the Office of Controller General of Patents Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM - Indian IP Office), Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India under the aegis of WIPO India Action Plan, 2023 from the academic year 2024-25.

### Admissions

NLUD does not utilise the Common Law Admission Test like other National Law Universities do; admissions to the undergraduate (UG) B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) program and postgraduate programmes are done through the All India Law Entrance Test (AILET), a test conducted every year by the university.
AILET (UG) Pattern
The AILET for B.A.LL.B (Hons.) programme has three (3) sections of 150 multiple choice questions for 150 marks in total. The duration of the examination is 120 minutes. The three sections are: Section A: English Language (50 questions; 50 marks). Section B: Current Affairs & General Knowledge (30 questions; 30 marks). Section C: Logical Reasoning (70 questions; 70 marks). Legal principles may be used in the logical reasoning section to test logical aptitude, but the examination will not require any kind of legal knowledge or technical understanding. Negative marking: There will be negative marking in AILET 2022-3. The criteria for negative marking will be based on the formula 0.25*4=1, which means per wrong answer, 0.25 marks will be deducted. Therefore, four wrong answers will lead to a deduction of 1 Mmark. If two or more candidates get the same marks at the All India Law Entrance Test (AILET), their merit will be determined on the basis of higher marks in the section on LOGICAL REASONING in the AILET 2022. If the merit is still the same, then the candidate of the senior age shall get preference. If there is still no change in merit, then the computerised draw of lots shall be taken into consideration.

### Rankings

National Law University, Delhi has been ranked 2nd at the All India level in the Law School category by the National Institutional Ranking Framework for 7 Consecutive year since 2017.

### Justice T. P. S. Chawla Library

The library is named after T.P.S. Chawla, a former judge of the High Court of Delhi who contributed significantly to the development of the library by donating his personal collection of rare volumes to it. The library is fully automated, and book circulation is maintained through electronic Library-cum-Identity Cards with the help of a barcode system. The collection comprises over 41,000 documents, including monographs, commentaries, textbooks, reference books and loose leaf material on various subjects, such as Jurisprudence, Judicial Process, Constitutional law, Intellectual Property, Public International Law, Environmental Law, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Aviation Law, Human Rights, Criminal Law, Cyber Laws, International Business Transactions, and Maritime Law.
The library consists of three storeys.

## Research

NLUD currently has thirteen research centres:
* Centre for Banking and Financial Laws
* Centre for Child Rights & Juvenile Justice
* Centre for Communication Governance
* Centre for Comparative Law
* Centre for Corporate Law And Governance
* Centre for Constitutional Law, Policy and Governance
* Centre for Criminology and Victimology
* Centre for Comparative Studies in Personal Laws
* Project 39A: Project 39A is inspired by Article 39-A of the Indian Constitution, which champions equal justice and opportunity by breaking down socioeconomic barriers. With a focus on empirical research, Project 39A aims to reevaluate criminal justice practices, sparking dialogues on issues like legal aid, torture, forensics, mental health in prisons, and the death penalty.
* Centre for Tax Laws
* Centre for Law & Urban Development
The team is committed to conducting rigorous research before proposing reforms, despite challenges like poor record-keeping and data access. They emphasise the importance of communicating their findings to a broader audience beyond legal professionals, as the health of the criminal justice system concerns society as a whole.
* Centre for Environmental Law, Policy and Research (CELPR)
* Centre for Innovation, Intellectual Property and Competition (CIIPC)
* Centre for Social Inclusion And Minority Rights
* Centre for Transparency and Accountability in Governance
* Centre for Transnational Commercial Law (CTCL)
NLUD also possesses endowed chairs:
* K.L. Arora Chair in Criminal Law
* Justice B.R. Sawhny Chair in Professional Ethics
They also feature a scholarly journal in collaboration with Sage Publications known as the Journal of Victimology and Victim Justice'.

## Notable people
### Alumni

* Dushyant Chautala, Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana

### Faculty

* Upendra Baxi

## Publications

Journals run by students and faculty at National Law University Delhi (NLU Delhi) are an integral part of the institution's academic landscape. These publications serve as platforms for legal scholarship, research, and discourse, facilitating the exchange of ideas and promoting academic excellence within the legal community. These are the journals published by the school:
* NLUD Student Law Journal
* Journal of National Law University, Delhi
* International Journal of Transparency and Accountability in Governance