Department of Laws

About Department of Laws

The Department of Laws, originally established at Lahore in 1889, was re-established at Shimla in 1948, shifted to Jalandhar in 1950 and finally re-located at the University Campus at Chandigarh in 1959. Its Alumni include Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, Union Cabinet Ministers, State Chief Ministers, Cabinet Ministers, Ambassadors, Senior Bureaucrats, Police Officers and other legal luminaries.

Justice imparting system is the foundation of every civilized nation. Law department formerly known as University Law College is committed to play an important role in the legal system of this university. Stature of this department is as big as its strength. Law graduates from this department are serving all over the country in the lower courts, High Courts and Supreme Court. The faculty of the department consists of 9 Professors, 2 Associate Professors, 5 Assistant Professors, 8 part-time teachers, guest faculty and many Research Scholars working on various Research Programmes.

The Department is the pride alma mater of three Chief Justices of India, a large number of Chief Justices of the High Courts, members of subordinate judiciary, civil servants, law officers and members of the legal profession and a large number of legal luminaries and justices. The number of its alumni, which rose to the bench of the Supreme Court and in many High Courts of this country, is too large to mention. Chief Justice of India Dr. A.S. Anand, the former Chief Justice of India taught in this department for a number of years. The present Chief Justice of India Hon'ble Mr. Justice J.S. Khehar has also been our proud alumnus and taught in the department as well.

The Department is always in action to create new opportunities for its students. In the past, the department had MoU with ELSA (European Law Student Association and run an exchange programme with University of Stockholm. The department had also signed MoU with Fancy Barristers, P.C., New York School to run a course on Demonstrative Advocacy.

The Department provides practical training to LL.B. students. One full paper of 6th Semester includes compulsory participation in two Moots along with the court visits. Special lectures by eminent Academicians, Judges and Senior Advocates which are compulsory as a part of curriculum, are delivered for the benefit of LL.B. and LL.M students. From the academic session 2017-18 onwards, students being admitted in LL.B. course have to undergo internship annually. The students of the department are sent to the Supreme Court of India/Parliament as a part of the practical training programme. The department has a separate and well furnished Moot Court Hall where every year various Seminars, Presentations and Moot Court Competition take place. As a part of Extra- Curriculur activities, every year department conducts a Blood Donation Camp to encourage the students to donate blood and save Life.

Legal Aid Clinic-cum-Arbitration Centre as well as a Placement Cell are also functioning in the department. The Department has provision for special lectures in memory of Justice Mehr Chand Mahajan and S. Ajit Singh Sarhadi. These lectures have been delivered over the years by eminent persons such as Justice V.K. Krishna Iyer, Justice V.S. Deshpande, Professor Upinder Bakshi, Dr. L.M. Singhvi, Professor Mool Chand Sharma, Justice J.S. Verma, Mr. Soli J. Sorabjee and Prof. M.R. Madhava Menon. The department has a good library with more than 56,000 documents and 52 regularly subscribed Indian and foreign journals. The Department has also the distinction of having Depository Library for United Nations Documents which is the only library with more than 8000 documents North of India. The Department regularly publishes a Law Journal (Panjab University Law Review).

Dress Code: Black pant and coat, white shirt along with tie/scarf (prescribed) on all formal occasions/functions i.e. moot courts, court visits, presentations, special lectures etc. The girl students have option to wear this dress or white salwar kameez with white dupatta and black coat.