Gujarat National Law University - GNLU Gujarat

About Gujarat National Law University - GNLU Gujarat

Gujarat National Law University or as abbreviated GNLU, is the statutory university established by the Government of Gujarat under the Gujarat National University Act, 2003. The University was formed in the year 2003 on the structure that was established two decades ago by the National Law School of India University, Bangalore. Mr. Kirit N. Raval, was the chief driving force behind the establishment and also the initial nurturing of the Gujarat National Law University. When the University was inaugurated on 17th July 2004, with 160 students selected on the basis of an all-India Entrance Test, it was the beginning of a dream come true for him. It was in 1998 that he had envisioned GNLU, organized and established the Indian Institute of Legal Studies Society along with a group of like-minded people, and began persuading the Government of the day to establish a National Law School in Gujarat. Thanks to his steadfast endeavours and ready Government support, the GNLU Act was passed unanimously in 2003. He was in fact the architect of the Act. The University became functional from the year, 2004. Since its inception the University has been holding regular in-house Moot Court competitions where-in meritorious students are sent abroad for participating in Moot Court jamborees. The hub of activity happens to be the Moot Court Committee and the Legal Aid Clinic, which have developed a workable and efficient interface with the industry and the Judiciary to the satisfaction of us all. The University offers its students a course of five years, and upon graduation provides the degrees, B.A, LL.B (Hons.), B.Com, LL.B (Hons.) and B.Sc., LL.B (Hons.).GNLU also offer LL.M course which is devised with a view to producing competent teachers and researchers. The syllabus is based on the UGC’s Model Syllabus on Law 2001. The Course is of two year duration with four semesters. Today it is one of India’s premier institutes of law and is

Location - The University is currently located at Sector 26, Gandhinagar, which is the capital of Gujarat and is located 30 kilometres north to the metropolitan city of Ahmedabad.

Faculty

• Law
• Science
• Commerce
• Arts

Proposed Institutes - Gujarat National Law University aims to create Centres of Excellence in particular fields of law over the years. They are:

1. School of Law, Science and Technology
2. School of Public Law and Policy Sciences
3. School of Criminal Law and Criminology
4. School of Law and Economics
5. School of Personal Laws
6. School of Social Sciences
7. School of Physical and Life Sciences
8. School of Studies in ADR Mechanism
9. Museum of Indian Legal History

Facilities

Moot Court - Mooting is one of the prime activities at GNLU. NLU teams have represented in various national & international moot court competitions and the young mooters have already started winning both at the national and the international level. In the last academic year, GNLU has participated in around 40 international and national moot court competitions.GNLU has a rigorous qualifying structure comprising of 2 rounds in every semester. The problem for the 1st round which is an elimination round, is normally based on domestic law while for the 2nd round, which is a merit round, it is premised upon International law. The successful participants are then offered moot court competition based on the ranking achieved. The oralists are chosen as per their rankings, while the researcher is as per the choice of oralist from within the merit list only. For the 1st year students, the moot problem is normally based on Tort Law with elements of Constitutional Law. The top 20 students from the intra rounds of the 1st year are eligible to participate with the seniors in the 2nd round. One thing that must be noted here is that that there is no demarcation between the 1st years and the rest of the batches as far as opportunities are concerned, when it comes to representing the University. It means that even the 1st years are entitled to represent the University that too as Speakers, including in International moot court competitions. This is one of the key initiatives that the Moot Court Committee has taken. The MCC also conducts special round for selecting researchers which gives them a platform to showcase their skills and boundless talents. It's a kind of talent search for the GNLU students. The MCC also conducts special rounds known as Vis Programme for the Williem C. Vis Vienna and Hong Kong International Arbitration Moot Court Competition. It is a unique programme conducted completely by the GNLU students who have represented GNLU in Williem C. Vis Vienna and Hong Kong Moot Court.

Internship Programme in GNLU - During the internship experience, the student will test the practical application of the theories of academic learning in the professional setting under the guidance and supervision of both a professional staff member and a university faculty advisor. As a part of the internship experience, the student will be evaluated on his/her work attributes and contributions in the assigned work or community setting. The student will have the opportunity to continually interact with the staff in the setting and periodically with the faculty in assessing his/her skills, accomplishments, and professional growth. During this period of Internship, students are required to conduct Legal Research, draft Pleadings, Briefs, Opinions or other Legal documents as required by the host. Internships may also involve interviewing witnesses, assisting Lawyers or Judges in Court, and observing Court Proceedings. In order to achieve the above mentioned objectives and satisfy Academic Programme requirements, GNLU has categorized its Internship Programme on following basis:

1. First Year: Non Government Organizations
2. Second Year: Trial Court
3. Third Year: High Court/Supreme Court/Law Firms/Corporate House
4. Fourth Year: High Court/Supreme Court/Law Firms/Corporate House
5. Fifth Year: High Court/Supreme Court/Law Firms/Corporate House

Library - The library now boasts of a compendium of 9,000 volumes of journals and knowledgeable tomes. The University is grateful to Dr. Bimal N. Patel who was instrumental in procuring a treasure chest of books (some 6000 volumes) from the Peace Palace Library, The Hague. These books cover a wide spectrum of some 400 themes in Law and stream paper related subjects, including international journals. GNLU was preferred over other claimants from Belarus, Turkey and Greece for this donation. For the building up of the library, the contributions of the Indian Society of International Law (some 1100 volumes, including a complete set of the Indian Journal of International Law), the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation Library (some 500 volumes), the Department of Legal Affairs of the Government of Gujarat, and indeed the parents of some of our students, must be gratefully acknowledged. a complete set of Moore's Indian Appeals of the 19th Century, US Federal Court Reports, International Courts of Reports, Reports of the International Law Commission, European Yearbooks of Human Rights, British Foreign and State Papers and so on. Library - The library now boasts of a compendium of 9,000 volumes of journals and knowledgeable tomes. The University is grateful to Dr. Bimal N. Patel who was instrumental in procuring a treasure chest of books (some 6000 volumes) from the Peace Palace Library, The Hague. These books cover a wide spectrum of some 400 themes in Law and stream paper related subjects, including international journals. GNLU was preferred over other claimants from Belarus, Turkey and Greece for this donation. For the building up of the library, the contributions of the Indian Society of International Law (some 1100 volumes, including a complete set of the Indian Journal of International Law), the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation Library (some 500 volumes), the Department of Legal Affairs of the Government of Gujarat, and indeed the parents of some of our students, must be gratefully acknowledged. a complete set of Moore's Indian Appeals of the 19th Century, US Federal Court Reports, International Courts of Reports, Reports of the International Law Commission, European Yearbooks of Human Rights, British Foreign and State Papers and so on.

Recruitment - Committee on Recruitment Affairs (CRA) functions to facilitate the recruitment process. In the very first year of GNLU's recruitment history, students of the pioneer batch have secured positions with esteemed law firms, companies, regulatory authorities, LPOs and practicing lawyers of the Supreme Court and various High Courts across the country. Some of our past recruiters include: Amarchand Mangaldas and Suresh A. Shroff & Co., Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, Crawford Bayley & Co. etc.

Computer Laboratory - The University has a 60-unit computer laboratory for students. Forty of the computers have complete sets of AIR(SC/HC/Crilj) Installed. Other Law Resources like westlaw(online), lexisnexis.com(online), jstor.org(online), manupatra.com(online), GLH-SC/HC, GLR are also available to the students. The Laboratory has access to Internet. At present Total 72 Nodes and 3 servers are connected with 4 mbps bandwidth at Academic Block. WiFi Network connectivity is available at Hostel, Library and Faculty cabin for Internet and Intranet Access. Scanning and printing facility is available in the Computer Lab.

Halls of Residence - The Government of Gujarat has lent 34 blocks of quarters converted into fairly comfortable two-seater hostel rooms with attached bath! The hostels are just 2 Km away from the University. The University provides separate Halls of Residence for boys and girls. UG students are given preference in allotment of hostel accommodation. There is a Mess-Canteen on campus which provides breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.

Science & Technology Laboratories - Since GNLU offers B.Sc., LL.B. (Hons.), a five year integrated undergraduate programme in law, the students study a range of science and technology courses in Life Sciences and Physical Sciences. The science laboratories are pillars for any institute in a science degree course and so GNLU has developed laboratories. They evolve, responding to the changing needs of science instruction in each semester. The laboratory has plans to develop basic infrastructural facilities to introduce the students to frontier areas of biotechnology. GNLU has a working relationship with the Directorate of Forensic Sciences, Gujarat, so that students are benefited from interactions with the scientists of the Institute.

Health Care - A Physician and a Nurse visit the hostels everyday in the evening. GNLU insists on submission of a complete medical history of each student at the time of admission. There are a number of specialists in Gandhinagar who can be contacted in case of emergency. The Apollo Hospital is nearby. The University students have special access to Civil Hospitals at Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad. The University keeps a vehicle stationed in the hostel complex for emergency use at night. First Aid facility is available within the hostel complex as well as in the Academic Block.

Conveyance - The University arranges buses in the mornings and evenings to shuttle between the Halls of Residence and the Academic Block. Use of private motor vehicles by students is not permitted although bicycles may be used.

Achievements

Internships - Arnim Agarwal was selected for the International Munich University Summer Training Program held at Munich. Nirav Bhatt participated in the Thomas M. Cooley Foreign Stu.dy Program in International Legal Studies at the University of Toronto, Canada.Presented paper on Human Rights in, a conference held at Dhaka, Bangladesh. Anirudh Singh Bhati received a Scholarship from Wikipedia Foundation.

International Moot Court Competitions - GNLU Team Stood 1st Position in the Henry Dunant Memorial Moot Court Competition at South Asian Round, 2008. Henry Dunant Moot Court Competition. Represented by: Mayuri Tiwari, A. Harsha Vardhan and Bharat Pandey. 3rd Rank and won the Best Memorial and Best Researcher award. Stetson International Envirorimental Moot Court Competition. Represented by: Abhinav Maker, Sagnik Sinha and Sarthak Guru. Won National Rounds and qualified for the final rounds conducted in Florida during November, 2006 with Sagnik Sinha adjudged the 7th best world speaker.

Book Acquisition - The first National Law School or Law Department in the country to have acquired more than 14,000 volumes including many rare and priceless collections worth more than ten Crore rupees in less than a year of its academic life.