The COMMON LAW ADMISSION TEST,2011

ABOUT THE COMMON LAW ADMISSION TEST, 2011

The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is an all India entrance examination conducted by 11 National Law Universities for admissions to their under-graduate and post graduate degree programmes (LL.B & LL.M). The 11 participating NLUs in the order of their establishment are:

• National Law School of India University, Bangalore (NLSIU).
• NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad (NALSAR).
• National Law Institute University, Bhopal (NLIU).
• The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata (WBNUJS).
• National Law University, Jodhpur(NLU).
• Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur (HNLU).
• Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar (GNLU).
• Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow (RMLNLU).
• Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala (RGNUL).
• Chanakya National Law University, Patna (CNLU).
• National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi (NUALS).

CLAT was conceptualized and implemented pursuant to a case filed at the Supreme Court of India highlighting the hardships of students who would have to appear for several separate entrance examinations. Prior to the case being decided, the Ministry of Human Resource Development brokered a settlement between the various law schools to conduct a common, all India entrance examination which was labeled as CLAT.

As per the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the first CLAT Committee (consisting of  Vice-Chancellors of the participating NLUs) decided that the test should be conducted by rotation in the order of their establishment. CLAT-2008 (NLSIU, Bangalore), CLAT-2009 (NALSAR, Hyderabad) and CLAT-2010 (NLIU, Bhopal) were conducted accordingly. CLAT 2011 is being conducted by The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata (WBNUJS).

THE UNDER-GRADUATE PROGRAMME OFFERED BY THE NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITIES
[5 year integrated BA/B.Sc*/B Psc**/ BBA^/ BCom^ LL.B (Hons) Degree Course]

Eligibility:

To be eligible  to appear for CLAT-2011, a candidate should have passed his/her Higher Secondary School/Intermediate Examination (10+2) or its equivalent examination with not less than 50% marks in aggregate (45% in case of SC/ST/OBC and persons with Disability).~ Candidates who have appeared in the 10+2 examination and are awaiting results are also eligible to appear in the test.° Age of candidate should not be more than 20 years in case of General/OBC candidates (22 years in case of SC/ST and persons with Disability)~ as on 1st July, 2011.

*Offered by NUJS, NLU Jodhpur and GNLU.

**Bachelor in Political Science, offered by NLU Jodhpur.

^Offered by GNLU, a new course, BSL (Bachelor of Social Welfare and Policy is under consideration to be introduced).

° The candidate must have passed the qualifying examination at the time of his/her admission and be able to submit its proof.

~ Subject to State reservation at the University concerned.

Pattern of the CLAT Paper for entry to the Under-graduate Programme:

The different subject areas of the exam are explained as under:

• English including ComprehensionThe English section will test the candidate’s proficiency in English based comprehension passages and grammar. In the comprehension section, candidates will be questioned on their understanding of the passage and its central theme, meanings of words used therein etc. The grammar section requires correction of incorrect grammatical sentences, filling in of blanks in sentences with appropriate words, etc.
• General Knowledge/Current AffairsThis section will only test students on their knowledge of current affairs (broadly defined as matters featuring in the mainstream media between May 2010 and May 2011)
• 3. MathematicsThis section will test candidates only on “elementary” mathematics i.e. maths that is taught till the class 10.
• 4. Logical ReasoningThe purpose of the logical reasoning section is to test the student’s ability to identify patterns, logical links and rectify illogical arguments. It will include a wide variety of logical reasoning questions such as syllogisms, logical sequences, analogies, etc. However, visual reasoning will not be tested, as this tends to disadvantage those that are visually impaired.
• Legal Aptitude/Legal AwarenessLegal Aptitude/Legal Awareness This section will test students only on “legal aptitude”. Questions will be framed with the help of legal propositions (described in the paper), and a set of facts to which the said proposition has to be applied. Some propositions may not be “true” in the real sense (e.g. the legal proposition might be that any person who speaks in a movie hall and disturbs others that are watching the movie will be banned from entering any movie theatre across India for one year). Candidates will have to assume the “truth” of these propositions and answer the question accordingly.Candidates will not be tested on any prior knowledge of law or legal concepts. If a technical/legal term is used in the question, that term will be explained in the question itself. For example, if the word patent is used, the meaning of patent (“a legal monopoly granted by the government for certain kinds of inventions”) will also be explained.

THE POST-GRADUATE PROGRAMME OFFERED IN THE NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITIES
[Two Year LL.M Degree Course]
[Important Note: CNLU, Patna does NOT offer this course]

Eligibility:

To be eligible for appearing in CLAT-2011 a candidate should have obtained a LL.B/B.L. Degree or an equivalent degree from a recognised University with not less than 55% marks in aggregate (50% in case of SC/ST /OBC and persons with Disability)*.

Candidates who have appeared in the qualifying degree examination and are awaiting results are also eligible to appear in the test**.

*Subject to state reservation at the University concerned

**The candidate must have passed the qualifying examination at the time of his/her admission and be able to submit its proof.

Pattern of the CLAT Paper for Entry in the Post-graduate Programme:

CANDIDATES SHOULD NOTE THE FOLLOWING:

• Availability of CLAT-2011 Information Brochure and Application form
  • The Brochure along with OMR Application Form will be sold at Rs. 150/- from different post offices throughout India and at the eleven National Law Universities.
  • Request for OMR Application Form along with Brochure can also be made by sending a Demand Draft/Bankers Cheque/ Pay order of Rs. 200/- in favour of “WBNUJS-CLAT A/C” payable at Kolkata to Convenor, Common Law Admission Test, CLAT-2011, The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences. Dr. Ambedkar Bhawan, 12, L.B. Block, Sector – III, Salt Lake City, Kolkata – 700 098.
• Mode of ApplyingDuly filled OMR application form along with Demand Draft/Bankers Cheque/ Pay order of Rs. 2500/- (Rs. 2000/- for SC/ST candidates) in favour of “WBNUJS-CLAT A/C”, payable at Kolkata and necessary documents as mentioned in the OMR application form and on CLAT website (www.clat.ac.in) can be submitted from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on all working days and upto 5:00 p.m. on 2 April 2011 to the Convenor, CLAT-2011 either in person or sent through registered post to the below mentioned address so as to reach on or before 2 April 2011.

  The Convenor,
  Common Law Admission Test, CLAT-2011
  The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata,
  Dr. Ambedkar Bhawan, 12 L.B. Block, Sector – III, Salt Lake City,
  Kolkata 700 098.

  Incomplete application or application received after the last date shall not be considered. University shall not be responsible for any postal/courier delay.

• The basic principle of admission through CLAT-2011 is merit.
• There shall be a centralised admission process at CLAT-2011 office at The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata. All admissions shall be centrally done at The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata. The information relating to date of admission shall be placed on CLAT website from time to time.
• CLAT result will be published with merit lists prepared on the basis of overall merit, gender-wise, state-wise and reservation/special¬ category wise (SC/ST /OBC/PWD/NRI/NRI Sponsored). A candidate whose name figures in more than one list will be given a choice after the declaration of the CLAT- 2011 result to unconditionally and irrevocably choose from any of the lists through which he/she want to seek admission within a stipulated time.
  • Information regarding details of intake, reservation, courses offered along with the fee structure and further details can be had from the CLAT Information Brochure 2011, CLAT website or website of concerned University.
  • Definition of disability for the purpose of admission shall be in accordance with Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 ¹. A candidate will have to produce disability certificate from competent authority in accordance with the provisions of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participations) Act, 1995 at the time of admission.
  • For details relating to the definitions of NRI/NRI sponsored and number of seats available for them, kindly see the information provided by different participating Universities.
  • Some of the Universities (e.g. CNLU, Patna) will admit the NRI candidates directly whereas others will do so through CLAT. Please read the information provided by the participating Universities in this regard in the CLAT Information Brochure or on the CLAT Website.

  ¹Disability in the act is defined to include:
  Blindness, low vision, leprosy cured, hearing impairment, loco- motor disability, mental disability or illness.

• After a candidate’s name appears in the merit list he/she must deposit a sum of Rs. 25000/-, non-refundable, but adjustable in the fee to be payable at the time of admission, to confirm his/her intention to take the admission. Failure to deposit the above mentioned amount by the given date shall be treated as if that the candidate is not interested in taking admission and his/her claim to admission shall automatically cease to exist. If the candidate leaves the concerned college after taking admission, such deposit shall be forfeited by the concerned University.The name of the bank, the account number and the date by which the amount of Rs.25000/- is to be deposited shall be displayed on the CLAT website.
• If there is a tie between two or more candidates in the CLAT examination result the same shall be resolved in the following manner and order; (1) Higher marks in the section on Legal Aptitude/ Legal Awareness of the CLAT examination. (2) Elder will be preferred (3) Draw of lots.
• All offers of admission by CLAT-2011 shall be provisional and shall not create any right to admission in favour of a candidate. CLAT-2011 will not be responsible for any expenditure incurred by the candidate on travel etc.
• Under no circumstances the change of University would be allowed after a candidate is admitted to a University.
• In the event sufficient number of candidates is not received from a particular centre, the university reserves the right to cancel the centre and shift the applicants to another nearest centre.
• Foreign nationals are not permitted to sit for CLAT-2011. Those desirous of taking admission to any course in any of the participating Law Universities may directly contact the concerned University having seats for foreign nationals.
• Any candidate who requires a scribe to write the test should intimate in writing to the Convenor, CLAT-2011 or Centre Superintendent at the time of submitting their application form and in any case, not less than 2 months prior to the CLAT-2011 entrance examination, citing reasonable cause and attaching relevant supporting documents.

Important dates for CLAT – 2011:

• Publication of advertisement in leading English/Hindi national daily Newspapers1st week of January, 2011
  Last week of February, 2011
• Issue of application forms from all CLAT -2011 participating universities and specified branches of Indian Post Offices from – 11 January, 2011 (Tuesday)
• Last Date for submission of filled-in entrance examination application forms – 2 April 2011 (Saturday)
• Issue of Hall Tickets to the candidates from – 12 April, 2011 (Tuesday)
• Date of Admissions test for UG/PG – 15 May 2011(Sunday) (3.00 P.M. – 5.00 P.M)
• Publication of result – 28 May 2011 (Saturday)
• Last date of acceptance and confirmation of interest in admission by depositing money in bank – To be notified later
• Completion of admission process – 28 June, 2011 (Tuesday)
• Commencement of classes – 1 July, 2011 (Friday)

The above dates are tentative and the Convenor, CLAT reserves the right to change the dates as per contingencies and requirements.

For any further clarification and information regarding CLAT- 2011 please contact at the following address:

The Convenor,
Common Law Admission Test, CLAT-2011
The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata,
Dr. Ambedkar Bhawan, 12 L.B. Block, Sector – III, Salt Lake City,
Kolkata 700 098.

Tele (033) 2335-0534/2335-7379/2335-0765
Fax (033) 2335-0511
Email: helpdesk@clat.ac.in
Website: www.clat.ac.in

Information Courtesy : www.clat.ac.in