CLAT
It is a national-level entrance exam for admission into undergraduate and postgraduate law programs in India. Preparation for CLAT (Common Law Admission Test) typically involves self-study and/or coaching from specialized institutes. A high score in CLAT can open up opportunities for admission into some of the top law colleges in India. The CLAT exam is scored out of 150 marks, and it consists of multiple-choice questions. The exam is designed to assess a candidate's aptitude, proficiency and knowledge in various areas such as English, Mathematics, Legal Aptitude, and General Knowledge.
The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is a national level entrance exam for admissions to undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) law programmes offered by 22 National Law Universities in India. CLAT is organized by the Consortium of National Law Universities, comprising representative universities. Several affiliate universities and organisations also use the CLAT exam for admissions and recruitment respectively. All admissions to the 5-year integrated L.L.B. and L.L.M. programmes that commence in the Academic Year 2023-2024 shall be through the CLAT 2023.
Brief History
After the second generation reforms of Legal Education, 1st National Law University namely, National Law School of India University was established at Bangalore in 1987.It took more than 10 years for the second National Law University, i.e , NALSAR (National Academy of Legal Studies and Research) at Hyderabad to come up in 1998.Then different States established NLUs. NLUs are islands of excellence created under State Statutes with Chief Justice of India or Chief Justice of respective High Court as Chancellor. (RMLNLU, Lucknow and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Law University Rai, Haryana are exceptions where The Chief Minister and Governor are Chancellors respectively).
NLUs were created on the pattern of IIMs and IITs. NLUs have changed the face of legal education in India. Infact, India is the only country in the world which has Universities for legal discipline alone. Today, we have 23 NLUs out of which 22 are admitting students through Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) (National Law University, Delhi having its own separate test).
UG Eligibility
There is no upper age limit for candidates appearing for UG Programme through the CLAT 2023. Candidates must secure the following minimum percentage of marks in their qualifying examination (i.e., 10+2 or an equivalent examination): Forty five percent (45%) marks or its equivalent grade in case of candidates belonging to General / OBC / PWD / NRI / PIO / OCI categories. Forty Percent (40%) marks or equivalent in case of candidates belonging to SC/ST categories. Candidates who may be appearing for their qualifying examination in March / April, 2023 are also eligible to appear for the CLAT 2023 examination. If more than one candidate secures an equal number of marks in the CLAT 2023, the break of tie shall be by the following procedure and order as: i. Higher marks in the component/section on Legal Aptitude in the CLAT 2023 exam; ii. Higher age; iii. Computerised draw of lots.
UG Syllabus and Guide- Question Paper Format
The UG-CLAT 2023 would focus on evaluating the comprehension and reasoning skills and abilities of candidates. Overall, it is designed to be a test of aptitude and skills that are necessary for a legal education rather than prior knowledge, though prior knowledge occasionally may be useful to respond to questions in the Current Affairs section.
| a. | Maximum Marks | 150 |
| b. | Duration of CLAT 2023 Exam | 02:00 Hours |
| c. | Multiple-Choice Questions | 150 questions of one mark each |
| d. | Negative Marking | 0.25 Mark for each wrong answer |
Sr. No. |
Subject Areas with weightage: |
(approximate number of questions) |
1. |
English Language |
28-32 questions, or roughly 20% of the paper |
2. |
Current Affairs, including General Knowledge |
35-39 questions, or roughly 25% of the paper |
3. |
Legal Reasoning |
35-39 questions, or roughly 25% of the paper |
4. |
Logical Reasoning |
28-32 questions, or roughly 20% of the paper |
5. |
Quantitative Techniques |
13-17 questions, or roughly 10% of the paper |
AILET
All India Law Entrance Test (AILET) is conducted by National Law University, Delhi (NLU Delhi) for admission undergraduate (UG), postgraduate (PG) and doctorate (PhD) level law courses. This is a national-level entrance exam conducted for admission in law programmes at NLU Delhi only. The exam is held in a pen-paper-based mode from 11:00 am to 12:30 am.
The National Law University, Delhi will conduct All India Law Entrance Test (AILET) 2024 in December this year. The official notification for AILET 2024 exam date and application forms availability will be shared anytime soon. Candidates will get all information and news related to AILET 2024 exam on the official website - nludelhi.ac.in.
Exam Pattern 2024
NLU Delhi shares updated exam pattern and syllabus of AILET every year with admission notification. The AILET question paper for BA LLB (Hons.) has three sections wherein, Logical Reasoning section carries 70 marks, English Language carries 50 marks, and Current Affairs & GK section carries 30 marks. The BA LLB paper contains a total of 150 multiple-choice questions (carrying 1 mark per questions). Candidates must refer to the updated AILET exam pattern 2024 to prepare for the exam.
The section-wise weightage of AILET 2024 for BA LLB question paper is as under:
Subject |
Questions per section |
English Language |
50 questions |
Current Affairs & General Knowledge |
30 questions |
Logical Reasoning |
70 questions |
Total |
150 |
Besides these, some other entrance exams like LSAT, ULSAT, SLAT and Universities like MDU, PU etc. also conducts entrance exams to take admission to 5 year integrated law courses after 12th. You can visit their websites respectively.