Constitutional Law Symposium

Each year, in the month of March, the NLIU Law Review, in collaboration with India Foundation, organizes the NLIU – India Foundation Constitutional Law Symposium. The Symposium aims to provide a platform for discussion on contemporary constitutional law issues in India. It takes place over a period of two days and comprises a paper presentation competition and various panel discussions on the common theme of “Contemporary Constitutional Law Issues in India”. The event is open for participation to students, researchers, faculty members, academicians, lawyers and legal experts in the field of constitutional law.

India Foundation is an independent research centre which focusses on the issues, challenges and opportunities of the Indian polity. The Foundation believes in understanding contemporary India and its global context through a civilizational lens of a society on the forward move. The Centre for Constitutional and Legal Studies of India Foundation specialises in the study and research of legal issues in the ever-evolving constitutional framework of India. The Centre found its vision reflected in that of NLIU Law Review, and this resulted in the collaboration with NLIU Law Review in the organisation of the Symposium.

Constitutional Law Symposium, 2019

National Law Institute University, Bhopal (NLIU), in association with the India Foundation, organized the first edition of the Symposium from March 16-17, 2019 at the NLIU Campus in the city of lakes, Bhopal.

The event took place over a period of two days. On the first day, papers were presented by students of law from across the country, whose submissions had been accepted after a thorough review process conducted by the NLIU Law Review. The presenters spoke on several contemporary issues of constitutional law, such as the doctrine of essential religious practices, female genital mutilation and reservation in promotions, and provided novel solutions to address the lacunae in the existing legal framework.

The paper presentation was followed by panel discussions and plenary sessions on the second day. In the inaugural session, the eminent panellists were Justice A.P. Misra, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India and Chairman, Legal Education Committee; Prof. N.L. Mitra, Former Director, National Law School of India, Bangalore and Founder Vice-Chancellor, National Law University, Jodhpur; Prof. (Dr.) B.N. Pandey, Dean, Adamas University; Dr. V. Vijayakumar, Vice-Chancellor, NLIU, Bhopal and Dr. Manoj Sinha, Director, ILI Delhi. The session was themed on “The Aberrations in Principles of Separation of Power” and was moderated by Mr. Apurv Mishra, Senior Fellow, India Foundation.

Subsequent to this, a plenary session on “Faith and the Indian Constitution” was held where eminent legal scholars and personalities, Mr. Vikramjit Banerjee, Additional Solicitor General, Supreme Court of India; Mr. J. Sai Deepak, Advocate, Supreme Court of India and Prof. V.K. Dixit, Professor of Jurisprudence, NLIU, Bhopal, presented their opinions.

The Symposium also included a special plenary session on “Freedom of Speech and Expression in the Age of Social Media” wherein the panel consisted of Ms. Anuradha Shankar, ADGP of Madhya Pradesh Police; Dr. P. Puneeth, Centre for Study of Law and Governance, JNU, Delhi and Prof. (Dr.) Ghayur Alam, Professor, NLIU, Bhopal. This session was moderated by Mr. Guru Prakash, Fellow, India Foundation.

Constitutional Law Symposium, 2020

National Law Institute University, Bhopal (NLIU), in association with the India Foundation, organized the second edition of the Symposium on March 14-15, 2019 at NLIU Campus, Bhopal.

On Day 1, the Symposium saw a paper presentation competition among students from law schools across the country on the theme “Contemporary Constitutional Law Issues in India”. Paper presentations were made by 10 different teams of students, whose submissions were accepted after a thorough review process conducted by the NLIU Law Review. These teams presented on topics of great significance such as the Citizenship Amendment Act, transgender rights as well as separation of powers.

Day 2 of the Symposium began with a welcome address by Prof. V. Vijayakumar, Vice-Chancellor, NLIU Bhopal. It included a plenary session on the topic “Sovereignty in the Digital Age”. The session consisted of very eminent and notable speakers from the field of law and academics, such as Mr. Vinit Goenka, Secretary, Centre for Knowledge Sovereignty; Anuradha Shankar, ADGP, Madhya Pradesh Police and Bharat Panchal, Chief Risk Officer, FIS Global. This session was chaired by Prof. Ghayur Alam, Dean, UG, NLIU Bhopal and Faculty Advisor of the NLIU Law Review.

The Symposium also included a second plenary session on “Rethinking Parliamentary Democracy” where the panellists addressed the student body in order to facilitate awareness and engage in discussion on key democratic issues in the country. The panellists for the discussion were G. Raghuram, Director, NJA Bhopal and R. Venkatramani, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India. This second session was chaired by Prof. V. Vijayakumar, Vice-Chancellor, NLIU Bhopal.

Constitutional Law Symposium, 2023

NLIU Law Review successfully organized the 3rd NLIU-India Foundation Constitutional Law Symposium, 2023. The Symposium was graced by esteemed dignitaries such as Prof. Faizan Mustafa (Former Vice-Chancellor, NALSAR University of Law), Mr. Vikramjit Banerjee (Senior Advocate and Additional Solicitor General of India), Archbishop Felix Machado (Diocese of Vasai), Mr. Shyakh Hodri Ariev ( Chairman, Nahdlatul Ulama Pesantren Association of India), Prof. (Dr.) Eqbal Hussain (Dean, Faculty of Law, Jamia Milia Islamia University), Mrs. Aayushi Ketkar (Assistant Professor, JNU), Mr. Guru Prakash Paswan (Assistant Professor, Patna University), Mr. Sankalp Sharma (Special Public Prosecutor Lokayukt & Practising Advocate, Madhya Pradesh High Court), Prof. (Dr.) V. Vijaykumar (Former Vice Chancellor, NLIU Bhopal), Prof. (Dr.) Vinod Kumar Dixit (Visiting Professor at NLIU, Bhopal) and Prof. (Dr.) Ghayur Alam (Dean, Undergraduate Studies at NLIU, Bhopal and Faculty Advisor of NLIU Law Review). All the dignitaries shared their views with the participants and attendees on topics of contemporary relevance. Selected manuscripts for the Symposium were incorporated as a part of Volume XII Issue II of the journal as a Special Theme-Based Issue.