1. INTRODUCTION

This Annual Report on the working of the University is prepared and presented by the Executive Council to the General Council in pursuance of the requirement under Section 12(2)(iii)(a) of the NALSAR University Act, 1998. The period covered is from April 1999 to March 2000.

2. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

During the year under report, meetings of the various University authorities were held or scheduled to be held on the dates noted hereinafter:

Among the more important decisions taken by these authorities are the following:.

• Adoption of the budget Estimates for the year 2000-2001;

• Adoption of the Annual Report for the year 1999-2000;

• Decision to organise a nine-month Post-Graduate Diploma course in Alternative Dispute Resolution and adoption of Regulations for the Diploma Course;

• Adoption of leave rules for the Faculty of the University as per the recommendations of the U.G.C.;

• Prescribing qualifications for the appointment of Faculty in the University in conformity with the qualifications recommended by the U.G.C. and also creation of a new post of. Additional Professor. in between that of Professor and Associate Professor.

3.   APPOINTMENTS OF OFFICERS, TEACHERS AND OTHER STAFF:

During the year under report, the following Faculty has been appointed on contract basis pending recruitment on regular basis in due course. They joined duty on the dates mentioned below:

Consequent to his appointment as Principal District and Sessions Judge, Srikakulam District. Mr. Y.V. Ramakrishna, the first Registrar of the University was relieved of his duties on 12th October, 1999. Prof. Amita Dhanda, Professor of Law was placed in additional charge of the post of Registrar with effect from 12.10.1999 until further orders.

Ms. Sreenidhi Iyengar was appointed as Librarian on contract basis pending regular recruitment in due course from 03.01.2000.

Other support staff essentially required to cope up with increased work-load was also appointed on short-term contract basis pending regular recruitment in due course.

4.   ACADEMIC ADMINISTRATION

The second batch of admissions for the B.A., B.L. (Hons.) degree programme was made during the year under report. The All India Entrance Test was conducted on Sunday, the 23rd May, 1999 at Hyderabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Cochin and Delhi. Out of the 194 applicants, 166 students took the Test. Based on their performance at the Test a merit list was prepared whereby 50 students were admitted including 26 girl students. In addition one girl student with American citizenship was also admitted under the Foreign Nationals Quota. Later one student discontinued his studies and the batch strength stood at 50 students hailing from as many as 11 States. The inauguration of the Academic session 1999-2000 was formally done on 1st July, 1999 by Mr. Justice U.C. Banerjee, Hon. ble Judge, Supreme Court, New Delhi.

In collaboration with ICADR the University initiated the nine-month Post Graduate Diploma Course in Alternative Dispute Resolution, the first of its kind in the Country. Admissions to the Diploma were made in January, 2000. 40 candidates from different professions were admitted. These included besides practising Advocates, Doctors, Engineers, Company Secretaries, Business Executives and Chartered Accountants.

The course was formally inaugurated by Mr. Justice M.S. Liberhan, Hon. ble Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh on 11th January, 2000.

5.   CAMPUS DEVELOPMENT

The development of the University campus is an important and major activity undertaken during the year under report. On 10th October, 1999 the foundation stone for the Academic and Administrative complex at the Shameerpet Campus was laid by Hon. ble Mr. Justice A.S. Anand, Chief Justice of India in the presence of a galaxy of distinguished Guests of Honour which included Mr. Justice S.P. Barucha, Mr. Justice S.M. Quadri and Mr. Justice U.C. Banerjee, Hon. ble Judges of the Supreme Court. Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, Hon. ble Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh graced the occasion as Guest of Honour. Hon. ble Mr. Justice M.S. Liberhan, Chief Justice of A.P. and President of the University presided over the function.

In his address the Chief Minister promised all help to the University in its efforts to develop as a Centre of Excellence in legal education and research. The Chief Justice of India hoped to see the University develop as a premier Law University of international standing.

The task of campus development has primarily been undertaken under the care and superintendence of the Building Committee consisting of:

Hon. ble Mr. Justice S. Parvatha Rao

Hon. ble Mr. Justice J. Chelameswar

Sri. E. Ella Reddy

Prof. K. Ravi Anand

Sri U. Ch. Satyanarayana

Prof. (Dr.) Ranbir Singh

Prof. Amita Dhanda

The committee through its every Friday meetings not only settled the architectural plan for the campus but has been closely monitoring the subsequent building programme. To that end a number of the meetings are being held on the site at Shameerpet.

It was the Building Committee which on the advise of the consultants short listed the civil contractors and later made its recommendation to the Hon. ble President. The contract was awarded to M/s Asia Engineering Works.

The construction work started right in earnest from November, 1999 and first phase of construction comprising of two Hostel blocks (including Kitchen and Dining Halls) academic block, residential quarters for the Director, Registrar, few Faculty members and for the essential support staff should be completed by May 2000 which will facilitate shifting and commencement of activities of the University at the Shameerpeet Campus from the next academic session starting from July 1, 2000. The remaining building activity as per the Master Plan needs to be continued and completed at the earliest. The need to mobilise resources to meet the additional expenditures will be a major concern of the University in the years ahead.

6.   FINANCES

During the year a total amount of Rs. 45,56,239/- was transferred from National Society for Promotion and Advancement of Legal Studies to be utilised by this University. The Government of Andhra Pradesh also released Rs. 100 lakhs and is expected to release another 75.00 lakhs before 31.03.2000. Tuition fees realised is Rs. 22.15 lakhs. Donations to an extent of Rs. 5.85 lakhs were received by this University. Thus the total revenue receipts would be Rs. 63.62 lakhs and capital receipts would be Rs. 212 lakhs. In addition Rs. 1.00 lakh was endowed by M/s Biological E Ltd., towards the award of Gold Medal in Business Laws. During the year, the revenue expenditure would be Rs. 65.00 lakhs while the capital expenditure i.e. campus development, furniture, equipment etc. would be Rs. 211 lakhs.

7.   ACTIVITIES OF THE UNIVERSITY AND ITS FACULTY

(a) Curricular Activities

In consonance with its budding status, the University has concentrated on strengthening the undergraduate teaching programme. In order to accord greater individual attention to the students the tutorial system has been initiated from January 2000. The faculty has also been engaged in doing the necessary research and ground work for starting the Master of Laws programme from July 2000.

The University Faculty have been closely monitoring the course or curriculum, study materials and teaching programme of the ADR Diploma. This is to ensure that the Diploma is conducted in accordance with the standards of the University.

Guest Lectures

Guest Lectures for the benefit of students were delivered amongst others by Prof. N.L. Mitra, Director, NLSIU, Bangalore; Prof. V. Lalitha, Visiting Professor, National Institute for Research and Social Action, Hyderabad; Prof. G. Ramanan, Prof. and Head, Dept. of English, University of Hyderabad, Dr. Madabush Sridhar and Prof. K. Gupteswar, Vice-Principal and Principal, respectively of the Pendekanti Law College, Hyderabad.

(b) Co-Curricular Activities

Lectures:

Prof. Peter H. Schuck from Yale Law School, USA delivered a lecture on . . Pluralism and Diversity in American Politics. . on February 7, 2000.

Prof. Hans-bernd Schaefer, University of Hamburg, Germany delivered a lecture on . . Law and Economics: Towards a Changing Legal Thinking. . on 29.02.2000.

Panel Discussions

The Human Rights Day, 10th December, 1999, was observed by holding a Panel discussion on . Death Penalty for Rape. . Three panelists Mr. Chandrasekhar, Advocate; Ms. Sudha, Law Lecturer and Dr. Tripurana Venkataratnam, Chairperson, A.P. State Women. s Welfare Board initiated the discussions. Prof. Amita Dhanda chaired the session at which other participants including the Faculty and students of the University debated at length.

The University took the lead in initiating a dispassionate dialogue on the CPC amendments by organising a panel discussion on . . The Amendments to the Civil Procedure. . on 26.02.2000. Mr. Y. Venkateshwar Rao, Chairman, District Forum; Mr. S. Udayachal Rao, Former Judge and Mr. G. Peda Babu, Former President of A.P. High Court Bar were the panelists at the discussion which was presided by Prof. Ranbir Singh.

Moot Court Competition

The 16th All India Inter-University Moot Court Competitions sponsored by the Bar Council of India Trust, New Delhi was organised on 15-16 January, 2000. Hon. ble Mr. Justice K. Jayachandra Reddy, Former Judge, Supreme Court and former Chairman, Law Commission of India inaugurated the Competitions, at which 67 students from different Universities in the Country participated. The house team reached the semi-finals of this four round competition wherein they lost by four points to the National Law School. The prize distribution was done by Hon. ble Mr. Justice M.S. Liberhan, Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh.

Hand Book

In its effort to promote scientific pedagogy the University brought out a hand book entitled . . Moot Court for Interactive Legal Education. . at the occasion. The book edited by Dr. Amita Dhanda which had contributions from scholars both within and outside the University. From the University there were articles from the Director Dr. Ranbir Singh, Mr. Krishna Deva Rao; Mr. K.V.S. Sarma; Ms. Sandhya and Dr. Amita Dhanda. The book with a foreword from the Chief Justice M.S. Liberhan also had a short contribution from Justice Raghuram.

Foundation Day

The first academic session of the University was commenced on 1st December, 1998. A dinner was arranged to commemorate its first anniversary at which several heads and representatives of various educational and research institutions in the twin cities were invited with whom the university hopes to set up a collaborative network.

The inaugural issue of the student wall newspaper NALSAR LAW TIMES was released by the Hon. ble Justice M.S. Liberhan, Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court.

Collaborating Efforts

The 9th National Conference on Women. s Studies was held at Hyderabad from 8-11 January, 2000. The focus of the conference was . . Women. s perspectives on Public Policy. . and consisted of plenaries and subthemes on Tribal Policy, censorship, Health, Reservations, Armed Conflict and National Resource Management among others. Prof. Ranbir Singh and Prof. Amita Dhanda were members of the organising committees and Dr. Kalpana Kannabiran as the organising secretary of the conference was closely involved in the planning of the conference over the past year.

Faculty Activities

Prof. (Dr.) Ranbir Singh, Director: Participated at the Conference on Global Alliance for Justice Education from 9-12 December 1999 at Trivandrum. Also presented a paper entitled . . Accountability of Personnel of Law Enforcement Agencies on Torture Issues. . at VIII International Symposium on Torture held from 22nd to 25th September, 1999 at New Delhi. Served as a Faculty Member in the Continuing Legal Education Programme organised at Bubhaneshwar by the Bar Council of India Trust between 4-6 February, 2000.

He has delivered a lecture as resource person at the three day continuing education programme in Human Rights for Judicial Officers organised jointly by the A.P. Judicial Academy, Secunderabad and National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore between 28th and 30th December, 1999.

He has also delivered two lectures on 21st February, 2000 one on Environmental Law issues and the other on Law and Economics in the two refresher courses organised by NLSIU, Bangalore.

Prof. V. Ramakrishna: Delivered a key note address on the occasion of the inauguration of Kommareddy, Chalasani and Yetukuri Trust at Vijayawada on May 1, 1999 on . . Kisan Movements in Andhra Pradesh. . ; and delivered lectures on the . . Human Rights in India-A Historical Perspective. . in the Refresher Course on Human Rights, University of Hyderabad on June 26, 1999; on . . Sabaltern History. . at Social Sciences Trust, Vijayawada on September 9, 1999; on the Review of the 20th Century on . . Major Historical Developments from 1900-1950. . , at Rajole on December 15, 1999; on the . . Review of Indian Constitution. . organized by Kuchibhotla Vasanthi Foundation, Kakinada on January 29, 2000. He also inaugurated the city conference of SFI on . . Relevance of Social Sciences. . at Hyderabad on January 22, 2000.

Prof. S. Jaffer Hussain: Presented a paper on . . Personal Laws Relating to Woman: National And International Perspectives. . at the National Workshop on Human Rights Law held at Kakatiya University, Warangal from 4-8 December, 1999.

Prof. M.V. Subba Rao: Prepared lessons on International Relations for the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open University, Hyderabad.

Prof. Amita Dhanda: Requested by the Supreme Court to provide research consultancy to the exhibition on . . 50 years of the Supreme Court. . . Presented paper entitled . . The Disability of Mental Illness and the Law. . at International Seminar on Disability caused by Mental Disorders from 15-17 September, 1999 at Chennai; presented paper on the Interface between Health and the Law at International Workshop on . . Women and Health Policy in South Asia. . from 9-13 November, 1999 at New Delhi and . . Women and the Constitution . the first 50 years. . at the National Seminar on Human Rights: Fifty Years of Indian Constitution held from 18-20 February, 2000 at Hyderabad.

Mr. Srikrishna Deva Rao: Presented a paper entitled . Compensation and Rehabilitation of victims of Torture in India. at the VIII International Symposium on Torture held at Delhi in September 1999. Presented a paper on preventing custodial violence at National workshop on Human Rights held at Kakatiya University, Warangal in December, 1999.

Dr. Kalpana Kannabiran: She was a part of the team that put together . . War and Peace. . , a 75 minute Kuchipudi Dance Ballet produced by Asmita Resource Centre for Women and performed by the Lasya Priya troupe at Hyderabad in January.

Mr. K.V.S. Sarma: Wrote a book on . . Modern Criminal Law. . along with Prof. K.S.N. Murthy. The book is published by S. Gogia & Co., Hyderabad. He also revised Prof. S.V. Gupte. s . . Hindu Law. . along with Prof. K.S.N. Murthy to be published by A.I.R. Nagpur.

Dr. Vijender Kumar: Participated in the u.g.C. Teachers. Training Programme organised by CEERA, National Law School of India University, Bangalore at C.D.M. College of Law, Mangalore on . Teaching Environmental Law in the Universities. from 14th March to 2nd April 1999.

Ms. G.K. Sandhya: Presented a paper titled . Teaching Legal Language: Patterns, Problems and Challenges. at the International conference on English Grammar from 12-22 July 1999 at the Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages, Hyderabad.

Ms. Vijayashri Sripati: Participated in the Global Alliance for Justice Education (GAJE) conference held at Trivandrum on 9-12 December 1999 where she presented a paper on collaborative teaching.

Co-Curricular Activities (Students)

The University is committed to the all round development of its alumini and to that end students were encouraged to take up and participate in co-curricular activities. A special emphasis was placed on participation in moot courts. In the reporting year students participated in the following co-curricular activities.

(a) Moot Courts

The University sent teams for the following moot court competitions:

• Supreme Court Moot Court Competition held on 1st and 2nd April, 1999 at New Delhi.

• Second Raj Anand Moot Court Competition held on 28th and 29th August, 1999 at New Delhi.

• First All India Human Rights Moot Court Competition 1999 held from 6-8 September, 1999 at Kottayam.

• South India Moot Court Competition held on 2nd and 3rd October, 1999 at Pendekanti Law College, Hyderabad in which Ms. Aarthi Anand won the award of . . Best Women Advocate. . .

• All India Moot Court Competition held from 6th to 9th January, 2000 at Bangalore.

• D.M. Harish Memorial National Moot Court held from 7th to 9th January, 2000 at Mumbai.

• All India Moot Court Competition held on 15th and 16th January, 2000 organised by NALSAR where our team reached the semi-finals and Aarthi Anand has got the Best Advocate Award in the third round.

• All India Moot Court Competition held from 26th to 29th January, 2000 at Calicut at which our team won the IV best team award.

• Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition held from 27th to 30th January, 2000 at Chennai.

• All India Moot Court held from 10th to 12th February, 2000 at Trivandrum.

A team shall be sent for the Justice P.N. Bhagwati Constitutional Law Moot Court to be held from 23rd to 26th March, 2000 organised by NLSIU at Bangalore.

(b)  Debates

University team has participated in the Indira Gandhi Memorial Inter University Debate Competition held from 21st to 23rd December, 1999 organised by Indian Council of World Affairs on . . Globalization is no solution to Third World Development. . at New Delhi.

(c)  Elocution

Our students also participated in the Elocution Competition on 10.12.99 held by Indian Medical Association. Ms. B. Swethaa has won the third prize.

(d)  Duke of Edinburgh Award

Ms. B. Swethaa, a first year student has been awarded the Gold Standard by the International Award for the Young People, popularly known as HRH The Duke of Edinburgh Award.

8.  LIBRARY

The growth and development of both teaching and research is greatly dependent on a good library. To that end every effort is being made  to put together an inter-disciplinary collection of books suited to the requirements of the five year law course. A total amount of Rs. 6,50,000/- has been spent during the year under report for acquisition of books, journals and reports. At present the library has a total collection of 3000 volumes (including reports) and subscription is made to ten journals. The library facility is extended to the students from 9.00 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. every day. For the benefit of students the library staff have commenced preparing a scrap-book of articles on contemporary legal issues. Xerox and internet facilities are extended to faculty and students. Students have ready access to the Supreme Court cases both on CD-ROM (SCC-online and JURIX) and in hard copy. While the SCC-online contains only head notes of the various cases, full texts of the cases are available in JURIX.

NALSAR has taken up institutional membership at the British Council Library and the Indo-American Centre for International Studies. The result is that the faculty and students have access to enormous collection of books and periodicals in the leading libraries of the twin cities.

9.  VISITORS

Important visitors to the University included the following:

• Sri. Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy, Chairman, Law Commission of India, New Delhi.

• Mr. Nishit Adhikari, Hon. ble Minister for Justice and Law, West Bengal, Calcutta.

• Mr. R. Madison Conoley, Press Officer and Dy. Director, USIS, Chennai.

• Prof. Peter H. Schuck, Professor of Law, Yale Law School, USA.

• Prof. Hans-bernd Schaefer, Professor of Law and Economics, University of Hamburg, Germany.

• Dr. Richard Cohen, Executive Director, Indo-American Centre for International Studies (Formerly A.S.R.C.), Hyderabad.

10.  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The University wishes to place on record its deep sense of gratitude for all the financial support received from the Andhra Pradesh Government. The Council wishes to express its sense of appreciation and extends its sincere thanks for the financial help received by the University from M/s Challa Kondaiah Trust, Hyderabad; Mr. K. Srinivasa Murthy, Senior Advocate, Hyderabad; M/s B.E. Charities Trust, Hyderabad; Mr. P. Srinivasa Reddy, Hyderabad; Mr. Shardhul Shroff, New Delhi, Smt. C. Padmavathi, Hyderabad and Dr. & Mrs. S. Anandan, Chennai. Thanks are also due to Sri K.G. Kannabiran and Mr. N.K. Acharya, Senior Advocates, A.P. High Court; Hon. ble Mr. Justice Alladi Kuppuswamy, Hon. ble Mr. Justice A.S. Bhate; Mrs. V. Lakshmi, Hyderabad; Dr. V.S. Mani, Professor, New Delhi; and Dr. R.V. Ramana Murthy, Hyderabad, who have spontaneously donated books and reports to the University Library.