National University of Advanced Legal Studies

Law school in India

The National University of Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS) / NLU Kochi is a public law school and a National Law University located in Kochi, India. It is the first and only National Law University (NLU) in the State of Kerala and is one of the 26 NLUs in India. Admissions to the university are done on the basis of the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) which is one among the Top 10 hardest entrance examinations of India. The National University of Advanced Legal Studies was established by the National University of Advanced Legal Studies Act, 2005, passed by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Kerala in 2005. The day to day management and administration of the university is undertaken by the Vice Chancellor. Justice S. Siri Jagan (Retd.) is the current Acting Vice Chancellor of the university from 24.01.2023. Dr. Asha G., the present Controller of Examinations is the Acting Registrar since 06.03.2023.

The NUALS Act of 2005 merged the erstwhile National Institute for Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), earlier established and managed by the Bar Council of Kerala and Bar Council of Kerala Trust. NUALS was inaugurated by Chief Justice K. G. Balakrishnan on 7 January 2006. The university was located in Kochi since it was the seat of the High Court of Kerala and Lakshadweep.

The permanent faculty of NUALS Includes Prof. (Dr.) Mini S, Dr. Balakrishnan K, Dr. Anil R. Nair, Dr. Sheeba S. Dhar, Dr. Athira P. S., Dr. Namitha K. L., Dr. Abhayachandran K., Dr. Ambily Perayil, Dr. Aparna Sreekumar, Dr. Sandeep Menon Nandakumar, Mr. Raveendrakumar D, Mr. Hari S Nayar, and Dr. Nanditha Narayan. Since February 2020, seven sitting judges of the High Court of Kerala have been appointed as adjunct professors at NUALS. Many sitting and retired Judges are also the professors of NUALS / NLU KOCHI.

The university campus is spread over a 10 acre compound, located in Kalamaserry. The campus has an administrative block, academic block, two students' hostels, a faculty quarters, a seminar hall, an auditorium, an open air theatre, a library, a basketball court, a cricket net, a football field, a volleyball court, two badminton courts, two gyms, and a variety of indoor games.

The NUALS Library has over 13,000 books, making it one of the largest law libraries in Kerala, including extensive collections donated by eminent personalities including Justice VR Krishna Iyer, who donated his entire private library. The library also includes extensive online resources including WestLaw, Kluwer, HeinOnline, SCC Online and Manupatra. The Journal has been published since 2007. The journal focuses on contemporary issues that are at the forefront of IP and technology. The first volume of the journal was published in 2019. As of 2022, the journal has published three volumes.

The NUALS Art And Literary Annual Meet is the annual cultural fest of NUALS. The fest, usually conducted over three days have a plethora of art, literary, legal and sport events. The flagship events are Alankara, the fashion show competition on night one, Choreonight, the group dance competition on day two and the headliner show, performed by music artists. Artists and bands including Masala Coffee, Thirumali, Hanumankind, Arcado, have performed during Naalam.

The university hosts the annual NUALS Parliamentary Debate (NPD) competition that follows the British Parliamentary Style. As of 2020, it had completed six editions.

In 2019, a team from NUALS finished as Runners Up at the NLS Trilegal International Arbitration Moot, 2019. In 2019, NUALS emerged as semi finalists at the World Rounds of the 23rd Stetson International Environmental Law Moot Court Competition. In 2020, NUALS won the World Rounds of the 24th Stetson International Environmental Law Moot Court Competition. In addition, the NUALS team won awards for Best Memorial, in addition to an individual speaker citation for 2nd Best Oralist. In 2019, NUALS won the 1st JGLS Antitrust Law Moot Court Competition conducted by Jindal Global Law School and Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. In 2020, NUALS won the 8th RMLNLU SCC Online International Media Law Moot Court Competition, 2020.