National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi

The National University of Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS) was established by the State of Kerala by Act 27 of 2005 to be a national level institute of excellence in higher learning of law in the State. The Government of Kerala constituted this University by merging the erstwhile National Institute for Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), which was established and managed by the Bar Council of Kerala and Bar Council of Kerala Trust. NIALS was then the approved centre of the Cochin University of Science & Technology and recognised by that University. By the merging of NIALS to the University, all the students of NIALS became the students of this University and all the assets and liabilities were also transferred.

Structure of the University

Visitor : Hon’ble the Chief Justice of India
Chancellor : Honble the Chief Justice, High Court of Kerala
Pro-Chancellor : Hon’ble Minister for Education, Government of Kerala
Vice-Chancellor : Dr. N. K. Jayakumar M.A. M.Phil. LL.M.. Ph.D.

Authorities of the University

The General Council, the Executive Council and the Academic Council are the principal authorities of the University.

Course of Study

The Bar Council of India has recommended 37 subjects (including 4 practical training courses) for the 5 year LL.B. Course. However, the NUALS offers 50 subjects with nearly one third of them providing wide variety of options to the students. The students shall generally be required to write projects on topics in each subject. They may also be asked to involve in extension activities like legal aid services and clinical projects like women and law, media and the law, environment and the law etc. Placement for internship for a period of at least one month every year shall be envisaged by the University as an important component of the course. The students shall be conferred with B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) Degree at the end of 5 years.

The 5-year B.A.,LL.B. (Hons.) course offered by the erstwhile NIALS became the course of this University. The Government of Kerala has transferred 2.5 acres of land and a permanent building at Kaloor, a prime location in Kochi, on lease for housing the University. The Government has also allotted 10 acres of land on lease for 90 years at Kalamassery, on the outskirts of the city, for constructing the permanent campus for this University. Plans are in place for starting the construction work. It is expected that the Head Quarters of the University will be transferred to the new campus within a short period. The curriculum, teaching methods and examination system can legitimately claim many innovative features.

The teaching methods at NUALS are varied. The discussion method, a combination of the case law method and Socratic method shall be employed in teaching the subjects. There may also be some lecture classes. Enough discussions shall be held in the class on important aspects of every subject. Seminars, moot courts, workshops, field visits etc. shall be appropriately employed to activate the students and to give them intellectual exercise with an idea of developing in them an urge for learning the law in the context of practice. The project work shall be structured in such a manner that the student is encouraged to do research and write on topics of current importance. The projects shall be evaluated for marks and those that are found to be good enough may be encouraged to be published in the leading law journals. Society, Science and Law, Medical Jurisprudence, Law and Medicine, Law and Forensic Science are some of the specialized subjects offered and taught by the experts in the respective fields, so as to make the graduates of this University professionally competent. The students are also given full exposure to some of the socially relevant subjects like, Cyber law and E - governance, Energy Law, Media and the Law, Environment and Law etc. Thus, study in this University is made intellectually challenging and professionally rewarding.