NALSAR (NLU) Hyderabad: A Complete Guide

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The National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR) University of Law or NLU Hyderabad, is a leading National Law University in Shamirpet, Secunderabad, India. It was established in 1998 under Act 34 of 1998 of the State Legislative Assembly of Andhra Pradesh. It is an autonomous law school and one the best institutes for law in India. The institute provides legal education in an interdisciplinary manner. NALSAR aims to be a place where the disciplines of law, social sciences, humanities, and management connect together to create an ethical legal culture, which protects and promotes the rule of law and justice.

Motto: Dharme Sarvam Pratishthitham

Type: National Law University

Established: 1998

Chancellor: Chief Justice of the High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad

Vice-Chancellor: Faizan Mustafa

Location: Justice City, Shamirpet, Hyderabad, Telangana

Campus: Suburban

Affiliations: Unitary State University constituted by a statute of the Telangana Legislative Assembly

History of National Law University

National Law Universities are uni-discipline universities that provide integrated honours and law degrees to aspiring students. The first NLU of the country was established in 1986 in Bangalore and was named the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) Bangalore. Following the establishment of NLSIU Bangalore, a number of other State Legislative Assemblies also passed legislation to start national law schools. Today, our country has 23 NLUs.

Campus

The campus at NLU Hyderabad covers an area of 55 acres and has five zones. The Administrative Block is one of them. Adjacent to it is the Academic Block, which includes classrooms, conference halls, the library, the internet centre, a moot court hall, and research centres. The Residential Block has five hostels in it, separately built for both male and female students. The fourth zone consists of the Stadium, and the Law School Dining Hall constitutes the fifth and the last zone. The campus also includes the celebratory ‘Keerthi Stambh’ and a replica of ‘The Thinker’ by Auguste Rodin. The institute has also built an auditorium that can accommodate 500 people. The entire campus experiences uninterrupted Wi-Fi connectivity.

The library at NALSAR has an assemblage of over 27,000 law reports, reviews, periodicals, manuals, textbooks and other resources. The Law Resource Center is the centre of all the activities that are associated with the library.  It also aims to fulfil the research and academic objectives of the university. The library serves as a rich host of primary and secondary sources of resources. The VPN-configured Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) is easily attainable from any terminal in and out of the campus. Each record comes with a bibliographic description, reviews, publishers’ notes, and ratings. The library also has a depository of UN collections.

NLU Hyderabad is also home to a number of research centres. They include Centre for Air and Space Law, Centre for Land Rights, Centre for Corporate Law and Governance, Centre for Criminal Justice Administration and Human Rights, and Centre for Family Law.

Academic

NLU Hyderabad offers undergraduate and postgraduate programs in law and postgraduate programs in business administration.

For undergraduate programs, the institute offers a five-year integrated B.A LL.B.(Hons.) program. The college admits students to this program based the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT). The university has 120 seats and the selection process is competitive and discerning. NALSAR follows a credit-based elective system which makes it mandatory for the students to earn 200 credits over a period of five years to attain the degree. The total fee for the five-year program is ₹10.60 Lakh.

For postgraduate programs in law, the institute offers the LL.M course in Legal Pedagogy and Research, Corporate and Commercial Law, Criminal Law, Intellectual Property Rights, International Trade and Business Law, Personal Law, and Legal Consumer Law and Practice.The college admits students to this program based the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT). The total fee for the one-year, full-time program is ₹1.75 Lakh. The college has 50 seats for the program that allows students through CLAT, and ten additional seats are allotted to foreign nationals.

The Department of Management Studies at NALSAR University offers a two-year MBA program. Students are admitted to the program on the basis of CAT, XAT, GMAT and CMAT. The fee for the full-time program is ₹6.10 Lakh.

The University also provides a one-year, full-time M.Phil. program in law. Further, it offers a two-year, full-time Ph.D. program, and a three-year, part-time Ph.D. program in law as well.

The Centre for Air Space & Law (CASL) at NALSAR provides courses in Aviation, Space, Telecommunications, GIS and Remote Sensing. It aims to serve the growth and commercialization of the Aviation, Space and Telecom sectors. It offers a Master’s Degree in Aviation Law and Air Transport Management (MALATM) and a Master’s Degree in Space and Telecommunication Laws (MSTL).

Hostel

NLU Hyderabad has separate hostels for male and female students. The students in the first and the second-year share one room. Thereafter, students from the third year are allotted single rooms for themselves. All the hostels have common rooms for watching television and playing indoor and outdoor games, telephone facilities, uninterrupted internet connection, and a common mess that serves tasty and nutritious food to the students according to their demand. The yearly hostel fee is around ₹ 49,000.

Extracurricular Activities

NLU Hyderabad has several student clubs in the institute that conduct various events throughout the year. They include –

Constitutional Law Society (CLS):

The CLS was established in 2004 by a number of students, under the mentorship of Prof. Dr. B. Errabi. The CLS is dedicated to maintaining Comparative Constitutional Law and Constitutional Theory in the campus. It conducts Constitutional Law Debates every month. It publishes the Indian Journal of Constitutional Law, which is among the most renowned Constitutional Law journals of India. The CLS contains publications from famous scholars across the world.

Drama Club:

The Drama Club at the University conducts various drama events, such as ad-libbing, improvisation and dramatic readings.

Gender and Sexuality Forum (GSF):

The GSF was established by a small group of students, which has turned into a significant student organization of the University. It serves as a reason for NALSAR being one of the most liberal, open campuses in the country. The GSF has also organized protests for the rights of the LGBTQ community, the famous 2010 protest, being one of them. Public discussions and panel discussions are also organized by the forum. It does not hold any particular organizational structure and is open to anyone on the campus, bringing out any kind of discussion or activity of interest. It believes in a fun-filled and inclusive environment.

International Law Society (NILS):

The NALSAR International Law Society was established as a student initiative and turned out to be registered with the International Law Students Association (ILSA) recently. It organizes movie screenings, discussions on recent international affairs, essay competitions, talks, and discussions by international legal scholars on different aspects of international law.

Music Appreciation Club:

The Music Appreciation Club aims at expanding and encouraging the musical talent on the campus. Students meet and listen to a playlist of a particular genre and engage in discussion on the theoretical, historical, social aspects of it.

Photo Booth NALSAR (PBN):

PBN is an image repository at NALSAR. It is looked upon by a group of photographers, and friends, dedicated to their work.

Tech Law Forum (TLF):

The Tech Law Forum at NALSAR was established in 2007. The TLF influences the concept behind the merging of different disciplines to understand the effects that technology puts on today and the method of law serving as a regulatory mechanism for the same purpose. The TLF conducts several meetings on the campus, discussing such issues and various activities regularly. It also screens movies on modern-day issues like TPB AFK.

Also, the Student Wellness and Equity department at NALSAR includes Medical Services, Counselling Centre, the Anti Ragging Cell, the Committee against Sexual Harassment, and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Cell.

Scholarships

The institute awards scholarships to the students on the basis of the criteria of merit as well as income. The university shortlists eligible candidates according to the point-based system. Here, 60 percent of the weightage is given to merit and is calculated on the basis of CGPA. 40 percent of the weightage is based and calculated according to the income. The scholarships include-

The criteria for eligibility of the scholarship for the LL.B. program are:

• The students in the first year of LL.B. must have scored an aggregate of above 60% of marks in class 12 boards, or 10+2 examination, or an equivalent examination from the state board.

• The students in the remaining years of LL.B. must have obtained a minimum CGPA of 4.00 in their previous years of LL.B.

• The annual income of the parents must be less than INR 4.5 LPA.

The criteria for eligibility of the scholarship for the LL.M program are:

• The students in the first year of LL.M. must have scored an aggregate of above 60% of marks in LL.B. / B.L. or an equivalent degree.

• The students in the second year of LL.M. must have obtained a minimum CGPA of 4.00 in the first year of LL.M.

• The annual income of the parents must be less than INR 4.5 LPA.

The criteria for eligibility of the scholarship for the MBA program are:

• The students in the first year of MBA must have scored an aggregate of above 60% of marks in graduation or an equivalent degree.

• The students in the second year of  MBA must have obtained a minimum CGPA of 3.00 in the first year of MBA.

• The annual income of the parents must be less than INR 4.5 LPA.

Placement

The placement cell at NALSAR conducts placement sessions for students of all UG and PG courses, usually in the month of April. In 2019, a batch of 77 students recorded the placement rate of 100%. The highest salary package offered starts at INR 75 LPA. Law firms like AZB & Partners, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, Trilegal, Versist Law, L&L Partners have recruited students from NLU Hyderabad.

Recruiting corporate houses like HDFC Bank Limited, Vedanta Limited, ICICI Bank Limited, GMR Group, and Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company Limited and public sector undertakings like National Mineral Development Corporation, Rural Electrification Corporation Limited, and Steel Authority of India Limited have recruited students from here.

Herbert Smith Freehills is one of its top recruiting International law firms. Some students also got chances to study abroad at International Universities, such as the University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Cornell Law School, University of Chicago Law School, University of Pennsylvania Law School & New York University.

RANKING

In 2019, NIRF ranked NLU Hyderabad 3rd for law education. It is 3rd amongst NLUs by CLAT Cut-offs. The Week ranked it 2nd among law institutes in India.

The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has accredited it with an ‘A’ Grade.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q. Are accommodations provided during the on-campus sessions?

Ans- Accommodation can be arranged in NALSAR Campus, Hyderabad on request and payment of a nominal fee.

Q. Can anyone doing a job take up the CASL courses?

Ans- Yes, these programs have been specially designed as an onsite-online course which can be taken up by employed candidates, without requiring them to leave their jobs.

Q. What are the eligibility criteria for the CASL courses?

Ans- The candidates must have a Bachelor’s Degree or an equivalent degree in any discipline from any recognized university with a minimum of 50% marks.