About NALSAR
NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad was established in 1998. It is an autonomous educational institution engaged in teaching, research and extension activities in law and allied disciplines. The full-time students reside in the campus which is spread over 50 acres and is adjacent to the Shameerpet Lake, located at a distance of 26 kilometers from the city of Hyderabad. With a spacious and well-stocked Library, internet access in the student hostels, Moot Court Hall, conference venues, auditorium and sports facilities, the campus enables an all-round development of the students.
In a short span of 16 years, NALSAR has emerged as a leading destination for legal education in India and its graduates have made a mark in career avenues such as litigation, the judicial services, teaching, research, social advocacy, international organisations and transactional lawyering among others. It has been ranked as the No.1 law school in India as per the India Today–Nielsen Survey for the years 2008, 2011 and 2013. It was ranked as the top law school by Outlook Magazine in 2012. Over the last decade, it has been consistently ranked among the top two law universities in India. Graduates from this institution have received prestigious scholarships such as the Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University (2003, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2015), the Gates Cambridge Scholarship (2012), Scholarship to study Air and Space Law at Leiden University, Netherlands (2012), Commonwealth Scholarship (2011), Felix Scholarship (2011) and the Young India Fellowship (2011) among others. Beginning in 2012, incoming students have secured the Aditya Birla scholarships with as many as five students receiving it in 2015.
Since its inception, teams from this institution have won a large number of domestic moot court competitions. Teams representing NALSAR have reached the semi-finals (top four) at the world rounds of the prestigious Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot held in Washington, D.C. (U.S.A.) in 2006 and 2010. In 2012, its’ teams emerged victorious at the 19th William C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot held in Vienna (Austria) and at the Monroe E. Price Oxford Media Law International Moot held in England.
NALSAR graduates always secure 100% job placements. International and National Law Firms, Corporates, PSUs and Government Agencies come for campus recruitments with highly attractive pay packages.
Courses offered
In addition to the Undergraduate 5-Year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) programme, NALSAR offers One Year LL.M. Programme. Besides, the University also offers 2-Year Masters in Taxation and Business Laws for Indian Revenue Services (Income Tax) Trainee Officers at NADT, Nagpur; 2-Year Masters in Aviation Law and Air Transport Management; 2-Year Masters in Space and Telecommunication Laws; One Year P.G. Diplomas in Patents Law, Cyber Law, Media Laws, International Humanitarian Laws, Aviation & Air Transport Management, GIS & Remote Sensing Laws, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Family Dispute Resolution. The University through its Centre for Management Studies offers the 2-Year M.B.A. with specializations in Court Management, Corporate Governance, Financial Management & Capital Markets, Innovation & Sustainability Management, Human Resource Management, Marketing Management and Business Regulations.
M.Phil. and Ph.D. Programmes
Nevertheless, there is a strong emphasis on research programmes, with postgraduate students having the option to move on to the One Year M. Phil. programme and eventually the Ph.D. programme. In the long-run, the quality of a University is gauged by the range and depth of the scholarship produced by its faculty members and research scholars. Hence, efforts are being made to improve the standards of legal scholarship in India through these research programmes.
Collaborations with Foreign Universities
In recognition of the increasing importance of comparative and international dimensions of higher education, the University has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with as many as 30 foreign Universities located in the United States of America, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, Israel, The Netherlands and Singapore for purposes such as exchange of faculty members, students and collaborative research projects. These partnerships enable faculty and students at NALSAR to develop a rich understanding of legal cultures from other parts of the world and consequently enhance the quality of discussions and scholarship in the institution.
Research Centres
To create support structures for advanced learning and creative scholarship, NALSAR has set up dedicated research centres whose activities are co-ordinated by senior faculty members. These include the Centre for Disability Studies, Centre for Legal Philosophy and Justice Education, M.K. Nambyar SAARC LAW Centre, Centre for Air and Space Law, Centre for Environmental Laws, Centre for Tribal and Land Rights, Centre for Corporate Laws and Governance, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Centre and the Centre for Family Laws. The broad mandate of these centres is to produce scholarly publications, policy recommendations and newsletters connected to these areas apart from organizing guest lectures and discussions to build awareness about them. There are several ongoing research projects that are anchored by faculty members. For instance, in 2013, NALSAR was chosen by the Ford Foundation to conduct a three-year study for ‘Knowledge based interventions to strengthen the realization of Socio-Economic Rights’. The University is also part of the Global Internet Governance and Advocacy (GIGA) project under the aegis of the Department of Information Technology, Government of India. In addition, NALSAR has been assigned the task of managing and operating the Legal Information Institute (LII) of India (since March 2011) which is among the largest open access portals for disseminating legal information in India.
Legal Aid and Outreach programmes
As part of its social outreach programmes, NALSAR frequently provides specialized training to para-legals, government officials and resource-persons from Non-Government Organisations (NGOs). The Legal Aid Centre organizes legal literacy programmes at different locations and facilitates access to legal advice and representation for the poor in collaboration with the State Legal Services Authority and the State Human Rights Commission.
Publications
NALSAR currently publishes as many as eleven scholarly journals on an annual basis. The NALSAR Law Review is edited and managed by a committee of faculty members. There are several student-edited journals which have attracted high-quality submissions.