UGC NET Law - Eligibility, Exam Pattern And Syllabus

UGC NET Law – Eligibility, Exam Pattern And Syllabus

UGC NET Law is the national level exam to determine the eligibility of candidates for Assistant Professor and Junior Research Fellowship in Indian universities and colleges. The test is conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA) across India.

UGC NET is conducted twice a year, i.e. June & December. In this article, candidates can check full details pertaining to UGC NET (Law), eligibility, syllabus and exam pattern.

Eligibility – UGC NET Law

Qualifying Examination

  1. General/Unreserved/General-EWS candidates who have secured at least 55% marks (without rounding off) in LL.M or equivalent course from universities/institutions recognized by UGC. 
  2. OBC belonging to Non-Creamy Layer/SC/ST/ (PwD)/Transgender category candidates who have secured at least 50% marks (without rounding off) in LL.M or equivalent course are eligible for this Test. 
  3. Candidates who are pursuing their LL.M or equivalent examination or candidates who have appeared for their qualifying Master’s degree (final year) examination and whose result is still awaited or candidates whose qualifying examinations have been delayed may also apply for this test. However, such candidates will be admitted provisionally. 
  4. The candidates with a Master’s degree in Law awarded by foreign universities should in their own interest, ascertain the equivalence of their Master’s degree with corresponding Master’s degree of recognized Indian universities from the Bar Council of India (BCI).

Age Limit and Relaxation

  1. JRF: Not more than 31 years as on 1st day of the month in which the examination is concluded.
  2. Assistant Professor: There is no upper age limit in applying for UGC-NET for Assistant Professor.
  3. A relaxation of upto 5 years is provided to the candidates belonging to OBC Non-Creamy Layer /SC/ST/PwD/Transgender categories and to women applicants. Relaxation will also be provided to the candidates with research experience. 
  4. Three years relaxation in age will be permissible to the candidates with L.L.M. degree.

Exam Pattern

From 2019 onwards UGC NET Exam consists of TWO PAPERS only i.e. Paper I (General paper) and Paper II (Subject specific). Earlier, before 2019, there were three papers i.e. Paper I, Paper II and Paper III.

  • The Examination shall be conducted as Computer Based Test (CBT) only.   
  • The Test will consist of two papers. Both the papers will consist of objective type, multiple choice questions. 
  • Paper I will be carrying 50 questions for 100 marks. The questions in Paper-I intend to assess the teaching/ research aptitude of the candidate. It will primarily be designed to test reasoning ability, reading comprehension, divergent thinking and general awareness of the candidate.
  • Paper-II will carry 100 questions total of 200 marks. This is based on the Law (as a subject selected by the candidate) and will assess domain knowledge.  
  • The duration of the exam will be 03 hours (180 minutes) without any break. 
  • For each correct response, the candidate will get 2 marks.
  • There is no negative marking for incorrect response.

Syllabus

The detailed syllabus for both Papers I and II for UGC NET (Law)  is provided below: 

Paper – I 

  1. Teaching Aptitude
  2. Research Aptitude
  3. Reading Comprehension
  4. Communication
  5. Reasoning (including Math)
  6. Logical Reasoning
  7. Data Interpretation
  8. Information & Communication Technology (ICT)
  9. People & Environment
  10. Higher Education System: Governance, Polity & Administration

Paper – II (Law)

Unit I: Jurisprudence

  1. Nature and Sources of law
  2. Schools of Jurisprudence
  3. Law and Morality
  4. Concept of Rights and Duties
  5. Legal Personality
  6. Concepts of Property, Ownership and Possession
  7. Concept of Liability
  8. Law, poverty and Development
  9. Global Justice
  10. Modernism and Post-modernism

Unit II: Constitutional And Administrative Law

  1. Preamble, Fundamental rights and duties, Directive principles of State Policy.
  2. Union and State executive and their Interrelationship
  3. Union and State legislature and distribution of legislative powers
  4. Judiciary
  5. Emergency Provisions
  6. Temporary, transitional and special provisions in respect of certain states
  7. Election Commission of India
  8. Nature, scope and importance of administrative law
  9. Principle of natural justice
  10. Judicial review of administrative actions – Grounds.

Unit III: Public International Law and IHL

  1. International law – Definition, nature and basis
  2. Sources of International law
  3. Recognition of states and governments
  4. Nationality, immigrants, refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs)
  5. Extradition and asylum
  6. United Nations and its organs
  7. Settlement of international disputes
  8. World Trade Organization (WTO)
  9. International humanitarian law (IHL) – Conventions and protocols
  10. Implementation of IHL – Challenges

Unit IV: Law of Crimes

  1. General principles of criminal liability – Actus reus and mens rea, individual and group liability and constructive liability
  2. Stages of crime and inchoate crimes – Abetment, criminal conspiracy and attempt
  3. General exceptions
  4. Offences against human body
  5. Offences against state and terrorism
  6. Offences against property
  7. Offences against women and children
  8. Drug trafficking and counterfeiting
  9. Offences against public tranquility
  10. Theories and kinds of punishments, compensation to the victims of crime

Unit V: Law of Torts and Consumer Protection

  1. Nature and definition of tort
  2. General principles of tortious liability
  3. General defenses
  4. Specific torts – Negligence, nuisance, trespass and defamation
  5. Remoteness of damages
  6. Strict and absolute liability
  7. Tortious liability of the State
  8. The Consumer Protection Act 1986 – Definitions, consumer rights and redressal mechanism
  9. The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 – No fault liability, third party insurance and claims tribunal
  10. The Competition Act, 2002 – Prohibition of certain agreements, abuse of dominant position and regulation of combinations

Unit VI: Commercial Law

  1. Essential elements of contract and e-contract
  2. Breach of contract, frustration of contract, void and voidable agreements
  3. Standard form of contract and quasi-contract
  4. Specific contracts – Bailment, pledge, indemnity, guarantee and agency
  5. Sale of Goods Act, 1930
  6. Partnership and limited liability partnership
  7. Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881
  8. Company law – Incorporation of a company, prospectus, shares and debentures
  9. Company law – Directors and meetings
  10. Corporate social responsibility

Unit VII: Family Law

  1. Sources and Schools
  2. Marriage and dissolution of marriage
  3. Matrimonial remedies – Divorce and theories of divorce
  4. Changing dimensions of institution of marriage – Live-in relationship
  5. Recognition of foreign decrees in India on marriage and divorce
  6. Maintenance, dower and stridhan
  7. Adoption, guardianship and acknowledgment
  8. Succession and inheritance
  9. Will, gift and wakf
  10. Uniform Civil Code

Unit VIII: Environment and Human Rights Law

  1. Meaning and concept of ‘environment’ and ‘environmental pollution’
  2. International environmental law and UN Conferences
  3. Constitutional and legal framework for the protection of the environment in India
  4. Environmental Impact Assessment and control of hazardous waste in India
  5. National Green Tribunal
  6. Concept and development of human rights
  7. Universalism and cultural relativism
  8. International Bill of Rights
  9. Group rights – Women, children, persons with disabilities, elderly persons, minorities and weaker sections
  10. Protection and enforcement of human rights in India – National Human Rights Commission, National Commission for Minorities, National Commission for Women, National Commission for Scheduled Castes, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes and National Commission for Backward Classes.

UNIT – IX: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LAW

  1. Concept and meaning of intellectual property
  2. Theories of intellectual property
  3. International conventions pertaining to intellectual properties
  4. Copyright and neighboring rights – Subject matters, limitations and exceptions, infringement and remedies
  5. Law of patent – Patentability, procedure for grant of patent, limitations and exceptions, infringement and remedies
  6. Law of trademark – Registration of trademarks, kinds of trademarks, infringement and passing off, remedies
  7. Protection of Geographical Indications
  8. Bio-diversity and Traditional Knowledge
  9. Information technology law- digital signature and electronic signature, electronic governance, electronic records and duties of subscribers
  10. Cyber crimes, penalties and adjudication

UNIT – X: COMPARATIVE PUBLIC LAW AND SYSTEMS OF GOVERNANCE

  1. Comparative Law – Relevance, methodology, problems, and concerns in Comparison
  2. Forms of governments – Presidential and parliamentary, unitary and federal
  3. Models of federalism – USA, Canada, and India
  4. Rule of Law – ‘Formal’ and ‘substantive’ versions
  5. Separation of powers – India, UK, USA, and France
  6. Independence of judiciary, judicial activism and accountability – India, UK, and the USA
  7. Systems of constitutional review – India, USA, Switzerland, and France
  8. Amendment of the Constitution – India, USA, and South Africa
  9. Ombudsman – Sweden, UK, and India
  10. Open Government and Right to Information – USA, UK, and India

For more information, visit

  1. https://ugcnet.nta.nic.in/webinfo/public/home.aspx or
  2. https://nta.ac.in/Home

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