The Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law (RGNUL) is a state public law university located in Patiala, Punjab, India. It is one of the National Law Universities (NLUs) established in India to provide specialised legal education and to advance research in law and allied disciplines. The university is named after former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi.
| Name | Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | RGNUL |
| Type | State public university; National Law University |
| Location | Patiala, Punjab, India |
| Country | India |
| Field | Legal education and research |
RGNUL was established by the Government of Punjab through a state legislation creating an autonomous law university dedicated to undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes in law. It belongs to the family of National Law Universities in India, a model first pioneered by the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, which sought to reform legal education by introducing integrated five-year law programmes and a dedicated focus on research.
The university is situated in Patiala, a historic city in the Malwa region of Punjab known for its educational institutions, including Punjabi University and the Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology.
RGNUL offers an integrated undergraduate programme in law leading to the B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) degree, postgraduate programmes leading to the LL.M. degree, and doctoral research programmes leading to the Ph.D. The curriculum combines core legal subjects with social science perspectives, in line with the integrated NLU model.
Admission to the integrated undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at RGNUL is conducted through the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT), the centralised entrance examination administered by the Consortium of National Law Universities for participating NLUs in India.
The university hosts research centres and student-run journals covering areas such as constitutional law, criminal law, intellectual property, corporate and commercial law, and international law. Students participate in moot court competitions, legal aid clinics, and academic conferences as part of the university's co-curricular framework.
As Punjab's dedicated National Law University, RGNUL plays a role in producing legal professionals, judicial officers, academics and policy researchers from the region and beyond. It contributes to the broader network of NLUs that has shaped contemporary legal education in India.