The Faculty of Law, Aligarh Muslim University is the law school of the Aligarh Muslim University which has a history of over 100 years of teaching and writing law.
Contents
- History
- Scholar in Residence
- Memorandum of Understanding
- Publications
- Programs offered
- Law faculty building
- Seminar library
- Legal aid clinic and mediation centre
- Law Society
- Law Society 2016 17
- Dr Ambedkar Chair of Legal Studies Research
- Rank
- Notable alumni
- Actors and entertainers
- Jurists
- Academics
- Administrator
- References
In 2014, the faculty was listed on number 6 in India's best law colleges list compiled by India Today, a ranking which it retained in 2015 and 2016 as well.
History
The teaching of law was introduced in 1891. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was greatly impressed by the programme of legal education in British universities and was keen to incorporate law as a culminating discipline conducive to the moral, intellectual and material welfare of the students, passing out from the MAO College. A beginning was made with the three local pleaders providing part-time instruction on an honorary basis. Meanwhile, the search for a law professor was seriously undertaken by constituting a search committee consisting of Justice Douglas Straight and Justice Mahmood of the Allahabad High Court, and Sir Arthur Strachey who was a practicing lawyer. The committee recommended Mir Karamat Husain for appointment as the first law professor of the MAO College. He joined on 12 July 1891. Justice Syed Mahmood presented his most valuable personal collection of law books to the Department of Law.
After Mir Karamat Husain, Sahebzadah Aftab Ahmad Khan was in charge of the Department of Law until 1906. He was followed by Abdul Karim Khan, Syed Ali Naqi, M. Abdul Khaliq, M.A. Ishaq Khusro and Professor Hafizul Rahman. In 1960, the Department of Law, which until then existed as a department of the Faculty of Arts, was developed into a full-fledged faculty. The credit goes to the late Professor Hafizul Rahman, who developed a modern curriculum and initiated research. It is one of the oldest and premier faculties of India. Popularly it is known as the mother faculty because many reputed law faculties and institutions in India are attended by its former students. It has produced innumerable legal icons serving the nation.
Scholar-in-Residence
The Aligarh Muslim University has appointed N. R. Madhava Menon, the father of modern Indian legal education, as Scholar-in-Residence in the Department of Law. Professor Menon was the first PhD produced by the Department of Law at AMU.
Known as one of the long-serving, popular legal educators of the country, an institution-builder, the architect of the five-year integrated LL.B. programme and the Founder Vice-Chancellor of two of the leading law universities of India (National Law School of India University, Bangalore and National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata, Prof. (Dr.) N.R. Madhava Menon has endeavoured for nearly five decades to put Indian legal education on a par with those of the developed countries.
Menon has also been:
Memorandum of Understanding
One of the greatest achievements of the Faculty of Law is the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between AMU and George Washington University in the United States, one of the world's leading higher educational institutions in law, on 17 February 2010. This remarkable venture facilitates the faculty members and Ph.D or SJD candidates from each institution to participate for a semester or two as visiting scholars for the purpose of conducting research.
Publications
The department publishes the Aligarh Law Journal.
Programs offered
The Faculty of Law currently offers the following courses:
Law faculty building
The Faculty of Law was earlier situated at Sir Syed Hall which was later shifted to the present commerce faculty. At present the faculty is situated at the Qila Road building of the university.
Seminar library
The seminar law library is the oldest seminar library of the faculty. It has journals and books dating back to the 19th century. It has approximately 35000 books, including textbooks, reference books and research books, along with 35 national journals and 15 international journals.
Legal aid clinic and mediation centre
The faculty maintains this centre to provide legal guidance and advisement to indigent and poverty-ridden litigants by associating students under the supervision and guidance of committed law teachers together with local judiciary.
Law Society
The Law Society is a group of students actively involved in the affairs of the faculty. It was founded in 1894 as a non-profit student organization. It has a long traditional character which uplifts the students' participation and performance in relation to legal affairs in different arena.
The Dean, Faculty of Law is the President of the Society. The main task of the Law Society is to assist students within the Department of Law with all aspects of their study.
Networking with legal professionals helps build a presence for Aligarh Muslim University Law graduates with the legal profession.
The society organizes events, both academic and social, from an annual fest to a freshers' social and a farewell party for final year students.
Mohammad Shafi Qureshi, former Governor of Uttar Pradesh, was the secretary of the society in 1953. Arif Jwadder was the secretary for the session 2013-14. Anam Rais Khan was the secretary for the session 2014-15.
The Law Society published a review called Aligarh Law Society Review, a wholly student reviewed journal. Though it is not published now.
The society for the first time organised an annual festival named 1st Gavels Buzz in 2014.
Justice Markandey Katju has visited the Law Society.
Law Society 2016-17
The Law Society for the 2016-17 session was formed on 24 October 2016 with Syed Haris as its Vice President and Farhan Shamsi as its Secretary.
Dr. Ambedkar Chair of Legal Studies & Research
The sub-committee on education set up for centenary celebrations Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, in one of its recommendations in 1992, suggested setting up the Dr. Ambedkar Chair in different disciplines of different institutions and universities. In pursuance of the recommendation and followed by the decision, the Dr. Ambedkar Chair was set up for undertaking study and research programmes on various aspects of the philosophy, thoughts, ideologies, missions and ideals of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, by the Dr. Ambedkar Foundation, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, New Delhi.
The Ambedkar Chair was created by Dr. Ambedkar Foundation, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Govt. of India, New Delhi in 1992. Professor Mohammad Shabbir is the founding director of the Chair.
The Chair has published its well reputed legal journal entitled Quest for Justice regularly since 2005-06.
It also organizes a national essay competition every year to commemorate the anniversary of the birth of Dr. BR Ambedkar on behalf of the government of India.
Rank
Notable alumni
The following notable individuals have read law at the Faculty of Law, Aligarh.