Gujarat National Law University

The Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) is a public law school and a National Law University established under the Gujarat National Law University Act, 2003 in the state of Gujarat.[1] The university is located at Gandhinagar, which is the capital of Gujarat and is located 23 kilometers north of the city of Ahmedabad. The statute provides for the Chief Justice of India or a Senior Supreme Court Judge to serve as the Visitor of the university.

Gujarat National Law University is the seventh National Law University to be setup in the country
Academic Block "Shishya Bhavan"

Gujarat National Law University
MottoAa No Bhadraha, Kratavo Yantu Vishwatah
Motto in English
Let the noble thoughts come from all directions
TypeNational Law University
Established2003
FounderLate Kirtibhai N. Raval
ChancellorChief Justice of India
DirectorSanjeevi Shanthakumar
Location
Gandhinagar
,
Gujarat
,
India

23°09′10″N 72°39′39″E
CampusResidential
AffiliationsUGC, BCI, NAAC
Websitewww.gnlu.ac.in

History

GNLU was formed in the year 2003 by the efforts of the then Solicitor General of India, Kirit Raval, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi and the Bar Council of India. The University is based on the structure of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore. GNLU was the seventh National Law University (NLU) to be set up in the country. It was established with the active support of the Government of India, the Government of Gujarat and the judicial fraternity. Prof. (Dr.) V.S. Mani was the first Director, followed by Prof. (Dr.) Bimal N. Patel.[2] In 2012, GNLU got its new 50-acre campus situated in the Knowledge Corridor of Gandhinagar.[3]

Admissions
The Foundation Stone

Admissions to GNLU were originally done on the basis of a separate entrance exam conducted by the university itself, but after a Supreme Court ruling directing all law entrance examinations to be clubbed together, the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) was introduced in 2008, and since then admissions in GNLU, for both the undergraduate and postgraduate programs are made on the basis of performance in CLAT. The first CLAT was conducted in 2008, by NLSIU, and in 2014, GNLU conducted CLAT.[4] In 2019, around 60,000 students appeared for CLAT.[5]

Academic setup

The curriculum of GNLU is based on a two-semester per year system and is decided by the professors concerned. The courses include project work, report writing, research and analysis. As GNLU is a Research-based Training University (RbTU), each faculty prepares the course outline, devises the syllabus based on their first in-house research and consultation with subject experts across the country and the world. Mooting is compulsory in the first semester and all first-year students taking admission in any undergraduate course have a choice to learn any one foreign language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish, German, Japanese, Swahili, and Sanskrit).

Research Centres

Research centres present at GNLU, function in niche areas of economy for the dissemination of specialized knowledge and professional excellence.[6]

  • Centre for Law and Society
  • Centre for Foreign Policy and Security Studies
  • Centre for Sports and Entertainment Law
  • Centre for Private International Law
  • Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development
  • Centre for Banking Investment and Taxation
  • Centre for Public International Law
  • Centre for Corporate and Competition Law
  • Centre for Constitutional and Administrative Law
  • Centre for Business and Public Policy
  • Centre for Intellectual Property Rights
  • Centre for Law and Economics
  • Centre for Research in Criminal Justice Sciences

Journals published

A full list of journals published by GNLU is here under:

  • GNLU Law Review[7]
  • Gujarat Law Journal[8]
  • GNLU Journal of Law Development and Politics[9]
  • GNLU Journal of Law & Economics[10]
  • GNLU Law and Society Review[11]
  • GNLU Student Law Review[12]
  • GNLU Journal of Law and Sports[13]

The law school has a specialized incubation centre to mentor law graduates aiming to be legal entrepreneurs. In a bid to instil business skills to start a legal venture, the law school has set centre on the lines on top B-schools. It is the first legal incubation centre of its kind in India.[14] It will give an opportunity to two GNLU graduates at a time to become initial incubates as it aims to create jobs, train entrepreneurs, have innovative start-ups, legal firms, and companies. The incubation centre will be started with Rs 10 lakh to create physical infrastructure such as office space, provide seed funds apart from others to promote entrepreneurship in the knowledge-driven profession.

The Indian Legal History Museum housed at GNLU is aiming to represent the development of civilization in India by exhibiting artefacts of legal heritage. It is the first legal history museum in India.[15] The museum is divided into three floors, each floor designed in chronological sequence to trace and learn the legal systems of various time lines. It showcases the legal historical contents from the Indus valley civilization to the Dynasties of Mauryan, Gupta, Shunga, Barhut, Khstrapa, Ganga, Vijaynagar, Palav, Chola, Pala and the Sultanate era. The first floor has exhibits covering the legal history of 14th-18th century CE. The exhibition showcases the later medieval period by depicting various Mughal era and company era texts and icons of Law and Justice. The second floor exhibits the legal history contents from the 19th century CE till date. On the third floor, there is a miniature form of the courtroom of the Supreme Court of India, and a section ‘Around the world’, depicting salient features of the legal systems in different noteworthy countries. The Museum uses all interactive devices to make the visiting experience a learning with entertainment one. The museum also has a reception area with a clock-room and a museo-shop, along with the original certificate of Sardar Patel's admission to the bar at Lincoln's Inn.

Rankings
University and college rankings
Law – India
NIRF (2020)[16]7

The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) ranked it 7th among law colleges in 2020[16]

Extracurricular activities and committees

Moot Court Competitions

Moot courts and other legal events are held in the university, as a part of the curriculum as well as an extracurricular activity. The university has a Moot Court Committee, popularly known as the MCC for conducting moot courts and allied activities. The MCC also conducts three inter-university moot court competitions, namely the GNLU International Moot Court Competition (GIMC)[17], the GNLU Moot on Securities and Investment Law (GNLUMSIL)[18], and the NHRC-GNLU National Moot Court Competition (NHRC-GNLU NMCC)[19] in collaboration with various law firms and government institutions.

Students from the university have participated in various national and international moot court competitions thereby, winning laurels for the university. GNLU won the India Rounds of the prestigious Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition in 2016.[20] In 2017, the university team won the Stetson International Environmental Moot Court Competition.[21] In 2018, the university team won the South Asia Rounds of the Oxford Price Media Law Moot Court Competition.[22] The university team also won the ISRO India Funding Rounds of the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition[23] and the Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Moot Court Competition.[24]

Student Activities Committee
Famous singer KK at the 2014 version of "PENTAGRAM"

The Student Activities Committee, popularly known as SAC is an organization of students who work to promote extra-curricular activities in the university. The various student activities like acoustic nights and movie nights organised by SAC offers students the much needed break from the busy, officious and monotonous schedule of law school. The SAC caters to diverse student interests varying from cultural pursuits like Music and Dance to literary activities like Quizzing and consists of nine clubs to address the same. The SAC also organises the annual three-day-inter-university literary and cultural fest 'Pentagram'. The event usually scheduled for March every year is marked by different themes on the five days of the week preceding the fest, known as the 'Penta Week'.

Sports Committee

The Sports Committee of GNLU is charged with organising all the sporting activities of the university. This committee, much like SAC caters to the sports enthusiasts of the university, and organises intra-events throughout the year. It further consists of seven clubs to address enthusiasts of a particular sport, like cricket, football, etc. The Sports Committee is responsible for organising the annual inter-university sports fest 'Justice League' .

Student Research and Development Committee

The Students Research and Development Committee (SRDC) is a committee run by the students, both LL.B. and LL.M. alike and initiates, designs, develops, plans, executes and monitors all research activities in the university. It was created with an aim to promote the research culture and explore overall research potential of GNLU.[25]

Graduate Outcomes

Students graduating from GNLU opt to pursue a diverse range of careers, ranging from corporate law firm jobs to jobs in the bar and the bench of the Indian judiciary as well. Apart from this, several undergraduate students get their applications selected for pursuing their graduate studies from esteemed universities such as the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, Columbia University, Harvard University, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad etc., and in that process receive prestigious scholarships like the Rhodes Scholarship, the INLAKS Scholarship and the Harlan Fiske Stone Scholarship among others. A few students even get recruited to foreign law firms such as Linklaters and Herbert Smith Freehills. Students also choose to write the UPSC Civil Services Examination and a number of alumni are placed in various levels in the bureaucratic set-up of the country. GNLU alumni are also active in NGOs and Public Policy Think Tanks in India as well as abroad, and a couple of them have started their own start-ups as well.

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See also

References
  1. "Gujarat National Law University Act" (PDF). Government of Gujarat. 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 January 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2007.
  2. "GNLU Gandhinagar appoints a new director". www.merinews.com. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  3. Ganz, Kian. "800+ GNLU students move into 'monumental' 50 acre, Rs 150 crore campus in Gandhinagar". www.legallyindia.com. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  4. "CLAT 2014 Exam Analysis". www.lawentrance.com. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  5. "CLAT 2019: Around 60,000 appear for the test - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  6. "Research Centers and Endowed Research Programmes". gnlu.ac.in. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  7. "Home | The GNLU Law Review". gnlu.ac.in. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  8. "Gujarat Law Journal". gnlu.ac.in. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  9. "Home". gnlu.ac.in. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  10. "GNLU Journal of Law & Economics". Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  11. "Gujarat National Law University Law and Society Review". Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  12. "GSLR". gnlu.ac.in. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  13. "News | GNLU". gnlu.ac.in. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  14. "Home | Legal Incubation Council". gnlu.ac.in. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  15. "Legal History Museum". www.gnlu.ac.in. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  16. "National Institutional Ranking Framework 2020 (Law)". National Institutional Ranking Framework. Ministry of Education. 11 June 2020.
  17. "About GIMC". gnlu.ac.in. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  18. "Home | GNLUMSIL". gnlu.ac.in. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  19. "News | GNLU". www.gnlu.ac.in. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  20. Ganz, Kian. "It's official: GNLU beats Nalsar, NLS, NUJS to win MPL 7, after rocking ELSA moot and season". www.legallyindia.com. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  21. Saba (13 April 2017). "GNLU wins Stetson International Rounds". SCC Blog. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  22. Bhumika (27 November 2018). "GNLU wins the South Asia Regional Rounds and qualifies for International Rounds of Oxford Price Media Moot". SCC Blog. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  23. Ganz, Kian. "Mooting Premier League re-boots: GNLU wins Man Lachs funding, RGNUL Patiala bags NUJS Herbies • NLS tops table after Man Lachs '17 win". www.legallyindia.com. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  24. "Gujarat National Law University Wins 16th Hong Kong Regional Moot Court Competition".
  25. "About SRDC". gnlu.ac.in. Retrieved 17 July 2019.

Sources
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