List of Law Specialisations Offered in India: Courses, Admission Process

In the last decade, the field of law has witnessed a significant increase in popularity and demand. Students opt for higher education in the law stream from as early as graduation. With this surge, colleges have started providing various law courses through which candidates can pursue a career in law .

In this article, we have collected information and provided the list of law specialisations offered in India. Candidates aspiring to go forward with legal studies must be aware of the best specialisation to choose in order to make an informed decision about their professional ventures. Almost all the leading law colleges in India offer courses in which the traditional and new-age law specialisations are offered.

List of Law Specialisations Offered in India

The most sought after specialisation of law that students can opt for have been listed below.

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Degrees Under Which Law Specialisations are Offered in India

In order to pursue a law specialisation, candidates are required to enrol in a law course that will provide them with a degree. They can pursue a UG programme, a PG course, or certificate and diploma courses in law, as per their preference. At the bachelor level, students have the option of getting admission to a five year integrated law programme or the three year LL.B degree.

How to Pursue a Law Specialisation

The points and factors listed below will provide law aspirants with useful tips for choosing a law specialisation. They can also find details on how to choose the ideal specialisation in law for themselves.

• The necessity of choosing a law specialisation is not as urgent in the UG degrees as in the masters level programmes.
• At the bachelor level, candidates study all the subjects and get an insight into the basic overview of the law specialisations. However, in the LL.M degree, it becomes imperative for them to choose a specialisation in which they wish to major. The choice they make here will lay the pathway for their career prospects.
• Before choosing a law specialisation, candidates must always do some research and find the pros and cons of each of them. They should only go for the subject in which they have interest and wish to make a career.
• Candidates who cannot decide upon one specialisation can also enrol in a diploma or PGD law programme so as to specialise in more than one stream of law.
• One of the most important factors to be considered before opting for a law specialisation is the scope of the course in the job market.

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10 Popular Law Specialisations in India

By now law aspirants have understood the different specialisations that are offered in Indian law colleges. Those who are interested to take up a law specialisation should also know the 10 popular law specialisations that aspirants are usually taking up as they provide great job opportunities.

• Tax Law: This law is defined as the legal rules and practices governing the tax owed by the citizens to its government. Indian taxes are however levied by the State Governments and the Central Government. While tax law is the most commonly heard law, it is indeed one of those elements of the Indian legal structure that usually affects every Indian citizen on a daily basis. When candidates specialise in Tax law, they become aware of different types of taxes, documentation of tax records, tax credits and deductions or financial records.

• Consumer Law: A specialisation in Consumer Law is the study of law that is about protecting the interests of consumers or the public in general. This law is actually a popular field of study for businesses and corporations and assures that the corporate sector or the business does not exploit consumers. The objective of Consumer Law is to secure consumers from business practices that are unfair. It is defined as the area of law that offers protection when consumers head out to purchase a product or a service.

• Criminal Law: Criminal Law is used for dealing with offences that are committed against society or the state. It is one of the oldest law specialisations and is the top choice among law aspirants. Those who take up Criminal Law specialisation have to interrogate witnesses, interview clients, conduct trials, correlate proofs and findings, prepare a case for the defence of their client and also have to examine as well as cross-examine witnesses in court. This law deals with policy expansion to prevent crime and make an effective system of policing.

• Civil Law: This specialisation of law highlights on legal code and asks the judge to act as fact-finders and decide whether a particular party has violated a code or not. For over years, Civil law has always been the top preference of law amongst law aspirants. The person who has done wrong gets the chance to accept his or her fault or mistake and settle the dispute by paying certain compensation. A defined collection of processes, norms, rules and regulations, and judicial precedents help in resolving non-criminal conflicts or disputes between people, associations, corporations, and partnerships. This law constitutes of practices, norms, rules and regulations that help resolve disputes among families, etc.

• Corporate Law: One of the popular law specialisations is Corporate Law which helps aspirants to dig into the legality of commercial dealings, file taxes & manage government reporting, prepare corporate agreements etc. It is a highly reputable law specialisation across the globe. It comprises practices, norms, rules and regulations that govern the structure as well as the working of corporate firms. Jobs offered after getting a degree in Corporate Law include sales tax & excise departments, news & media, multinational firms, banks, business houses, legal consultancies, etc.

• Environmental Law: Aspirants specialising in Environmental Law try to understand the orientation of the legal framework towards sustainable economic activity. They are encouraged to do proper research and analyse issues that concern environmental policies, such as global warming, wastage of water, climate change, etc. The study of Environmental Law includes the local as well as the international legal frameworks for the protection of the environment, the protection of climate change, and the vital use of natural resources.

• Cyber Law: A law specialisation that is emerging due to the usage of the Internet in our everyday life is Cyber Law. This law deals with legal problems and remedies related to the Internet. In the Cyber Law course study, candidates develop a thorough understanding of illegal actions committed online, such as forgery, fraud, defamation, theft, etc. The legal matters are followed based on the Indian Penal Code and the Indian Technology Act of 2000.

• Intellectual Property Law: Intellectual Property Law deals with the legal rights of individuals related to creative work and inventions. The scope of this law is increasing rapidly across the world. The basic frameworks of Intellectual Property Laws are international bodies like the World Trade Organisation (WTO). A specialisation in Intellectual Property Law involves the in-depth study of IPR rules and regulations and the research and policy development aspects.

• Labour Law: Labour Laws manage problems related to employment, such as wages, working hours, holidays, benefits, and termination of employment. Those who take up this law specialisation understand the purpose and function of the labour law, industrial functions, basic conditions of employment, and resolution of any discrimination of equity in employment.

• Energy Law: This specialisation of law talks about the taxation and use of renewable and nonrenewable sources of energy. The main purpose of studying Energy Law is to create, enforce and challenge laws that govern the use of energy.

Law Specialisations in India: Admission Process

In order to get admission to their desired law programme, candidates have to meet its eligibility criteria and qualify the admission process. Anyone who fails to comply with all the conditions will not be selected for the course.

The admission process followed by law colleges in India varies from each other. However, they usually follow one of the following methods:

• Law Entrance Examination
• Entrance Test Conducted by the Institute/ University
• Merit Based Admission

1. Law Entrance Examination:

Many national and state level law entrance exams are conducted annually for shortlisting candidates. These exams are accepted by many law colleges that make it a mandate for students applying for admission to appear for the entrance exam.

The most popular exams in this category are Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) , Law School Admission Test - India (LSAT India) , TS LAWCET , AP LAWCET , MH CET Law , etc.

2. University Level Entrance Test:

There are a number of law colleges in India that conduct their individual entrance test for shortlisting candidates. All those who wish to secure admission to any of these colleges have to appear for the entrance test they organise. A few examples of this category include All India Law Entrance Test (AILET) , Symbiosis Law Admission Test (SLAT) , Christ University Law Entrance Exam (CULEE) , UPES Law Studies Aptitude Test (ULSAT) , BHU UET (Law) , DU LLB Entrance Exam , etc.

3. Merit Based Admission:

A few law colleges provide admission to students on the basis of their performance in the qualifying examination. A merit list is prepared in which candidates are ranked as per their aggregate score in the 10+2/ UG degree and those with the highest scores are given preference.

Apart from these, some institutes also conduct a round of Personal Interview after the entrance test/ merit based shortlisting of applicants.

The following articles will help candidates get detailed knowledge about law admission in India.

Top Private Law Colleges in India

Below we have outlined some of the best private law schools in India.

This was all about the law specialisations offered in India. In case you have any query or doubt on the subject, reach out to us through the QnA Zone or call on the toll-free student helpline number 1800-572-9877. You can also fill out the Common Application Form to get assistance from our admission experts in finding the best law college for yourself.

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