An application seeking admission to LL.D. Degree Programme must have:

• An M.Phil. Degree in Law from the NLSIU or from any other recognized University, or

• An LL.M. Degree of recognised University and serving as a teacher in law for a minimum period of ten years in a Department of Law in a University/College/Institution of national importance, or

• An Ph.D Degree in a related subject of Social Science with an LL.M. Degree from recognised University, or

• J.S.D. Degree of the NLSU or its equivalent from any other University.

Eligible candidates, will have to subsequent to the admission notification, apply to the Registrar in the prescribed form, which can be obtained after paying an application fee of Rs. 500/- by Demand Draft drawn on the State Bank of India or any other nationalised bank, payable to National Law School of India University at Bangalore and submit the same duly filled in within the stipulated time.

Along with the application, a candidate is required to submit the following :

• An outline of the scheme of research intended for the thesis,

• A suggested chapter-wise resume of the work in about 2,000 words,

• A certificate from the Institution concerned testifying length of service, wherever required,

• An attested photocopy of the LL.M., M.Phil., Ph.D. and J.S.D. Degree whichever is applicable along with the marks sheet of LL.M. examination, and

• One set of published papers, monographs, articles and books, if any.

Selection for 'Registration' to the LL.D. Programme shall be based, inter alia, on the performance of the candidate at a written test and an interview conducted by the Admission Committee constituted for this purpose with the Director as the Chairman and two or more Faculty members of the NLSIU nominated by the Director. The test is intended to appraise the candidate's own understanding of the project he is proposing to undertake and the soundness of the methodology outlined.

After going through the Admission Test and interview, if the Admission Committee finds a candidate suitable for pursuing LL.D. Degree programme in the NLSIU, he shall be allowed to provisionally 'Register' for the LL.D. Programme on payment of Rs. 1,000/- as Registration fee.

On completion of the registration formalities of the student, the Director shall constitute an Advisory Committee with a Principal Guide and two others from the senior faculty of the University for every registered candidate. An outside expert may also be appointed as a member of the Advisory Committee. One of these faculty members having specialization in the area of Research selected by the candidate shall be the Principal Advisor and shall be the Chairman of the Advisory Committee.

The Advisory Committee may review the research scheme submitted by the student and make additions/alterations or change the nature and scope of the problem, in consultation with the student concerned. The committee shall also prepare a plan of work for the entire programme, stipulating the teaching assignments, the number of seminars to be conducted by the student, review of literature and any other academic activity that the student should get himself involved in. The plan of work and the nature and scope of the research problem developed by the Advisory Committee shall be subject to the approval of the Director who is empowered to make any additions or alterations therein.

On completion of not less than six months residence in the University after the date of registration and a substantial coverage of review of literature on his/her research problem, the student shall undergo a comprehensive test conducted by his/her Advisory Committee, in order to determine his/her competency and suitability for being admitted to the candidacy of LL.D. Degree programme in the NLSIU. On receipt of the report of the Advisory Committee, the Registrar, with the approval of the Director shall notify that the student concerned is admitted to the candidacy of LL.D.

The minimum term of residence for completion of the requirements of the Degree programme and submission of the thesis is two years from the date of registration Provided the Director, on the recommendation of the Advisory Committee, and if satisfied, may permit a student to stay and continue his/her research work outside the NLSIU Campus for such duration as may be necessary after the successful completion of the Comprehensive Examination and such period of stay outside may be counted towards the two-year residential requirement for completion of the Programme.

At least three months before submitting of the thesis the student is required to present a seminar wherein he has to present and defend the findings of his/her research work. The seminar shall be attended by the Faculty, the post-graduate students and other invited experts.

In the light of the discussion at the seminar, the drafting of the thesis shall be finalised and submitted to the NLSIU with the approval of the Advisory Committee.

While submitting his/her thesis in quadruplicate to the NLSIU for evaluation, the student shall comply with the following requirements

• A certificate from the Major Advisor testifying for having satisfactorily completed the research work,

• A declaration by the student and attested by the Major Advisor to the effect that the research work is of original nature and not published or submitted elsewhere, and

• Fee receipt for having paid Rs. 5,000 as Examination fee.

The thesis submitted by the student shall be referred for evaluation to three External Examiners selected by the Director, from out of a panel of seven External Experts, recommended by the Advisory Committee and approved by the Academic Council for this purpose. The External Examiners shall send their evaluation report in the prescribed form within a period of two months from the date of receiving the thesis. The majority opinion of examiners shall be taken into for determining where or not the thesis work has been accomplished in fulfillment of the requirements of the LL.D. programme.

If two of the External Examiners recommend that there should be a Viva-Voce, the same may be held at the NLSIU with one of the External Examiners and the members of the Advisory Committee participating.

On completion of the Viva-Voce examination, the Principal guide shall send a report in the prescribed form with the signatures of all the members present, including that of the External Examiner, indicating whether or not the student is fit for the award of the LL.D. Degree.

If the examiners or majority of them are of the opinion that the thesis will not be considered for LL.D. Degree for reasons recorded in writing, but can be considered for the award of J.S.D. Degree, the University may confer the J.S.D. Degree to those who do not have already the J.S.D. Degree of NLSIU.

A candidate admitted to the LL.D. Degree Programme shall have to complete all the prescribed requirements within a maximum period of seven years from the year of registration. The Degree shall be awarded at the time of the Convocation.