The National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam (NLUJAA) has been established by the Government of Assam by way of enactment of the National Law School and Judicial Academy, Assam Act, 2009 (Assam Act No. XXV of 2009). The word ‘School’ was replaced by the word ‘University’ by amending the National Law School and Judicial Academy, Assam (Amendment) Act, 2011. The Hon’ble Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court is the Chancellor of the University. NLUJAA promotes and makes available modern legal education and research facilities to students and scholars drawn from across the country, including the North East, coming from different socio-economic, ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds.
The Committee appointed by the Chief Justices’ Conference on Legal Education and Training, 1993 and the All India Law Ministers’ Conference, 1995 had resolved to set up in each state of India a Law School modelled on the lines of the National Law School of India University, Bangalore for improving the overall quality of professional legal education in India. This was followed by the active initiation by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam and some of his prominent cabinet members who managed to receive an assurance from the Prime Minister of India as under:
“The Central Government will assist in establishing a National Law School and Judicial Academy in Assam for imparting legal education for the development of teaching and higher learning in Law, with the power to award degrees, diplomas and other academic distinctions. Further, periodical training program will be undertaken as a part of continuing education for advocates, Judicial officers, paralegal personnel, govt. officials etc. etc. including one year compulsory induction training for the newly recruited Judicial officers. For this purpose, a training institution named Judicial Academy will also function like a separate facility in the proposed Law University.”
The North-Eastern region of India has traditionally been one of the underdeveloped and marginalized areas of the nation. Despite the presence of a High Court for the eight ‘Seven Sister’ states, viz., Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura in Guwahati; the scenario of legal education in the area remained far from the potential of possible proliferation of excellence in the realm of legal profession. Thus, to fulfil the aspirations of the people, the Government of Assam decided to initiate and facilitate the establishment of a Law University in Assam. This lead to the establishment of The National Law University and Judicial Academy(NLUJAA), Assam by the Government of Assam by way of passing the National Law School and Judicial Academy, Assam Act, 2009(Act No. XXV of 2009). This Act was later amended as the National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam (Amendment) Act, 2011 (Act No. II of 2012), wherein the word ‘School’ was replaced by the word ‘University’.
The NLUJAA is a member in the family of the 20 (twenty) National Law Universities established across the country. It offers the B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) Five Year Integrated Course, LL.M. One Year Course and Ph.D. Programme. The Hon’ble Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court is the Chancellor of this University.
The campus of the National Law University is at Agiyathuri, Amingaon on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra River. Set amidst the lush greenery, it has a sprawling campus area that covers 50 acres. Administrative Block, Academic Block, Boys’ Hostel and Girls’ Hostel with most modern facilities are made functional since December 2016. Construction of Library Building and Group C and D apartments is nearing completion will be commissioned by August 2018. In the second phase of the construction activities, proposal is submitted to the Government of Assam to construct Auditorium, Teachers Apartments, Hostel of 33 beds, P. G. Hostel of 100 beds, Guest House, VC Bungalow and Registrar Bungalow, which is under active consideration.
The Law University is modelled on the lines of NLSIU, Bengaluru which has set new benchmarks of excellence in India and abroad in different aspects of the legal education and legal profession. Since its inception, in September 2011, NLUJAA has been making steady steps in its Pursuit of Excellence. Its pupils have to pass through a rigorous screening process known as the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) which selects students for all the national law schools in the country.
The Law University receives liberal grants from the Government of Assam. It has the recognition from the Bar Council of India and recognised under section 12-B of the University Grant Commission Act, 1956. Professional membership to the Association of Indian Universities, New Delhi has also been granted to this University which consolidates the formal establishment of the brand name NLUJAA. The Law University is also a member of a number of International academic institutions and associations from across the world, viz.:
- INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LAW SCHOOLS,
- ASIAN LAW INSTITUTE (ASLI) SINGAPORE,
- INDIAN LAW INSTITUTE (ILI),
- INDIAN SOCIETY OF INTERNATIONAL LAW (ISIL),
- INDIAN INSTITUTE OF COMPARATIVE LAW (IICL),
- CONSUMER GUIDANCE SOCIETY OF INDIA (CGSI),
- DEVELOPING LIBRARY NETWORK (DELNET),
- INDIAN SOCIOLOGICAL SOCIETY (ISS),
- INDIAN POLITICAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION (IPSA),
- INDIAN COMMERCE ASSOCIATION (ICA),
- INSTITUTE OF CONSTITUTIONAL AND PARLIAMENTARY STUDIES (ICPS),
- INDIAN SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY (ISC),
- INDIAN ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE (ISSA)
- FORUM OF SOUTH ASIAN CLINICAL LAW TEACHERS, GOA (FSACLI) etc.
The Law University is a residential university and has a student strength of 300(three hundred).They are accommodated in one boys’ hostels and one girls’ hostel which provides efficient academic infrastructure like internet access, Wi-Fi connectivity, a fully functioning Mess, and gymnasium. Resident doctor is available for any medical emergency. Regular health check-ups of students are organized.
The Library of the Law University is rapidly growing and online databases like LEXISNEXIS, MANUPATRA, SCCONLINE, DELNET, and JSTOR are accessible to the students. The University is in the process of subscribing to many more such databases of repute.
The process of training and instruction is interactive, with ample use of the audio-visual aids. A continuous and comprehensive evaluation process takes place in the form of practical training which includes Seminars, Projects, Viva-voce as well as theory classes are imparted with a view to provide a holistic development of the legal skills and the personality. A thorough and exhaustive examination system is one of the hallmarks of NLUJAA.
The Law University has hosted the North Eastern Round of Surana and Surana Moot Court Competition in the year 2012. Dr. Gurjeet Singh Memorial National Moot Court Competition is launched from 2017 as a flagship event of the NLUJAA.
First Convocation of the National Law University and Judicial Academy Assam, Guwahati was held in its Campus at Amingaon on February 25, 2018. Total of 148 students were conferred degrees of B.A.,LL.B. and LL.M. in the convocation. Seven students bagged gold medals.
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