The Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) is an eminent

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

law school A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...

and a

National Law University National Law Universities (NLU) are law schools, public law schools in India, founded pursuant to the second-generation reforms for legal education sought to be implemented by the Bar Council of India. The first NLU was the National Law School ...

established under the ''Gujarat National Law University Act, 2003'' in the state of Gujarat. The university is located at

Gandhinagar Gandhinagar () is the capital of the state of Gujarat in India. Gandhinagar is located approximately 23 km north of Ahmedabad, on the west central point of the industrial corridor between the megacities of Delhi and Mumbai. Gandhinagar ...

, which is the capital of Gujarat and is located 23 kilometers north of the city of

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

. The statute provides for the

Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India (CJI) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India and the highest-ranking officer of the Indian judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the President of India to appoint, as recommended by the outg ...

or a Senior Supreme Court Judge to serve as the

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of the university. The university is known for its highly competitive admissions and has an acceptance rate of 0.045 %. It has an intake of around 174 students selected from a pool of around 100,000 applicants in its undergraduate law programme. Administrative Block at GNLU

History

GNLU was formed in the year 2003, by the efforts of the

Solicitor General of India The Solicitor General of India (SGI) is subordinate to the Attorney General for India. The SGI is the second-highest law officer of the country, assists the Attorney General, and is assisted by Additional Solicitors General of India (Addl. SG ...

, Kirit Raval, the Chief Minister of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

and the

Bar Council of India Bar Council of India (BCI) is a statutory body established under section 4 of the Advocates Act 1961 that regulates the legal practice and legal education in India. Its members are elected from amongst the lawyers in India and represent the In ...

. The University is based on the structure of the

National Law School of India University The National Law School of India University (NLSIU), commonly referred to as the National Law School (NLS), is a Public university, public State university (India), state law university established under the National Law School of India Act, 19 ...

(NLSIU), Bangalore. GNLU was the sixth

(NLU) to be set up in the country. It was established with the active support of the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

, the

Government of Gujarat The Government of Gujarat, also known as Gujarat Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Gujarat and its 33 districts. It consists of an executive of the legislators appointed by the Governor of Gujarat, a judiciar ...

and the judicial fraternity. Prof. (Dr.) V.S. Mani was the first Director, followed by Prof. (Dr.) Bimal N. Patel. In 2012, GNLU got its new 50-acre campus situated in the Knowledge Corridor of

Academics

Curriculum

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 language (

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, Chinese, French,

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

, Swahili, and

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

Admissions

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 The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is a centralized national-level entrance test for admissions to the 25 out of 27 National Law Universities (NLU) except NLU Delhi and NLU Meghalaya. CLAT was first introduced in 2008 as a centralized entran ...

(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. In 2019, around 60,000 students appeared for CLAT.

Rankings

Gujarat National Law University was ranked fourth by ''

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''s "India's Best Colleges 2023: Law". The

National Institutional Ranking Framework National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) is a ranking methodology released annually by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, to rank institutions of higher education in India. The framework was approved by the former Ministr ...

(NIRF) ranked the institute 8th in its law ranking 2024.

Journals published

A full list of journals published by GNLU is here under: * GNLU Law Review * Gujarat Law Journal * GNLU Journal of Law Development and Politics * GNLU Journal of Law & Economics * GNLU Law and Society Review * GNLU Student Law Review *GNLU Journal of Law and Sports

Legal Incubation Centre

The law school has a specialised 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. 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.

Legal History Museum

The Indian Legal History Museum housed at GNLU is aiming to represent the development of civilisation in India by exhibiting artefacts of legal heritage. It is the first legal history museum in India. 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 civilisation The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation, was a Bronze Age civilisation in the Northwestern South Asia, northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 Common Era, BCE to 1300 BCE, and in i ...

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 The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judiciary of India, judicial authority and the supreme court, highest court of the Republic of India. It is the final Appellate court, court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in India. It also ...

, 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 Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel (; ''Vallabhbhāī Jhāverbhāī Paṭel''; 31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), commonly known as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, was an Indian independence activist and statesman who served as the first Deputy Prime ...

's admission to the bar at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

Research

Research centres present at GNLU, function in niche areas of economy for the dissemination of specialised knowledge and professional excellence. *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, Sustainability & Climat
Justice
* 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 *Centre for Healthcare, Ethics, Legal Advocacy and Policy Research * Centre for Legal History, Philosophy and Tradition

Student life

Moot Court Competitions

Moot court Moot court is a co-curricular activity at many law schools. Participants take part in simulated court or arbitration proceedings, usually involving drafting memorials or memoranda and participating in oral argument. In many countries, the phrase ...

s 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)'', the ''GNLU Moot on Securities and Investment Law (GNLUMSIL),'' and the ''NHRC-GNLU National Moot Court Competition (NHRC-GNLU NMCC)'' 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. In 2017, the university team won the Stetson International Environmental Moot Court Competition. In 2018, the university team won the South Asia Rounds of the Oxford Price Media Law Moot Court Competition. The university team also won the ISRO India Funding Rounds of the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition and the Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Moot Court Competition.

Student Activities Committee

The Student Activities Committee, popularly known as SAC is an organisation 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.

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 Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad etc., and in that process receive prestigious scholarships like the

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Established in 1902, it is ...

, the INLAKS Scholarship and the Harlan Fiske Stone Scholarship among others. A few students even get recruited to foreign law firms such as

Linklaters Linklaters LLP is a British multinational law firm, headquartered in London. Founded in 1838, it is one of the four ' Magic Circle' law firms known for their corporate and financial expertise. It currently employs about 3,100 lawyers in 31 of ...

and

Herbert Smith Freehills Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP (HSFK) is a global law firm with headquarters in London, England and Sydney, Australia. As of 2024, the firm was the 33rd largest by revenue. It was formed on 1 October 2012 by a merger between the United Kin ...

. 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.

Silvassa Campus

Gujarat National Law University – Silvassa Campus (GNLU – S) has been established by resolution of the Governing Bodies of Gujarat National Law University which has been empowered under the Gujarat National Law University Act, 2003 as amended by the Gujarat National Law University (Amendment) Act, 2022. GNLU – S is being provided with full support and co-operation by the Government of Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.

References

Sources

gnlu.ac.in/aboutus.htm
(archived)

External links

* {{Authority control 2003 establishments in Gujarat Universities and colleges established in 2003 Law schools in Gujarat State universities in Gujarat National Law Universities