Dear dignitaries, colleagues and friends,

It gives me great pleasure in welcoming you all to this first International Law Seminar of the Gujarat National Law University. 

Objectives of the Seminar

GNLU has organized this seminar with three objectives in mind: firstly, to offer intellectual contribution to the policy-makers with regards to the most pressing concerns the world is facing, especially, how it affects India and what could be a possible response of India from a foreigner’s perspective. Secondly, to provide opportunity to the GNLU faculty, staff and students, judiciary, members of bar and the executives, principles of law colleges to interact with our foreign delegates and one another at large. Last but not the least, to discuss with our foreign delegates possibilities of cooperation between the GNLU and their respective universities.

May I offer my apology to our invitees in case if they have received invitation at short notice as I joined last week only and our team has been working since then to finalise the programme and all attendant arrangements. If within a span of 7 days, GNLU organizes such a big gathering, you can imagine the potential the University, especially our 800 students, who are GNLU ambassadors have, to make the GNLU a world class law university. In fact the motto of the GNLU, Motivated Staff and Committed Students for the best public and private legal service to the Nation and the World at large has been put into place with the organization of this event.

Welcome greetings

I extend our most warm greetings to our Chief Guest – Justice Shri Radhakrishnan who has a fine academic soul and who accepted our invitation to address the seminar. Our deep gratitude to Justice Shri Thakkar, former Judge of the Supreme Court of India and an inspiring figure to the legal educationists the country over. GNLU extends its cordial greetings to our foreign delegates from Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. To all dignitaries and especially principles of law colleges of Gujarat may meet our friendly welcome greetings. Friends and partners from industry, law firms, and government departments may please be greeted with our warm welcome.

GNLU – a law university with difference

GNLU debates will be policy-oriented, not just intellectually enriching as intellectual discussions leading no policy change or improvement for development of society is meaningless, a talk-show. The topics that will be discussed are some of the most pressing concerns. Financial meltdown, global warming and terrorism; these are not isolated events. They affect the world at large. If we are to find a solution to these problems that plague not only our beloved nation but also humanity at large, we, as responsible citizens have a significantly considerable role to play. As the maxim goes, ubi societus ebi jus, that is where there is society, there is law. Law, is the regulating force of society and all solutions to social problems need a legal perspective.  The GNLU is selfish enough to suggest our foreign speakers to analyse and offer a foreign perspective on India’s position so that our policy-makers will have “foreign input” into their policy formulation.

Medium Term Plan

Later in the session our students will make a presentation on GNLU but if I can steal some limelight then let me inform you that we have put in place a medium-term plan (2009-2014), a first of its kind in any Indian and perhaps foreign universities which shows how GNLU is and will be able to serve the country and the world at large. The EC of the GNLU has approved the plan and we have taken some initiatives and will be implementing the programmes and activities in letter and spirit. You all are invited to become partner in this educational endeavor to contribute to the nation building. Please kindly visit our website www.gnlu.org.in. I must say how overwhelmed I feel truly to learn the support and cooperation of all organs of Gujarat State, legislative, executive and judiciary. When I mentioned the support and assurances given by the office of the Hon CM, Law Minister, Speaker, Hon Chief Justice, judiciary and various branches of executives during my farewell courtesy calls to judges, diplomats and educationists abroad they were almost speechless. GNLU is certain that with this level of support it will become a world class law university retaining high international standards as expressed by the Hon. Chief Justice of India Shri Balakrishnan when I thanked him for honouring me with this opportunity to serve the country.

GNLU a university taking lead in introducing new measures of higher education, research and training

We have incorporated various recommendations made by the National Knowledge Commission and thus becoming the first university in the country to live up to the expectations stipulated by the Commission. We all are aware and my counter parts in other National Law Universities more so about the dearth of talented faculty. GNLU Executive Council has agreed and we have announced best faculty awards for legal education, research and training. Within 24-48 hours, vice-chancellors of other national law universities have congratulated GNLU and thanked us for taking the lead. India to play a global role must have courses in foreign laws. We will be introducing from next semester these courses. Here let me take a break and say how it will work. For example, in the context of Gujarat, Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit witnessed representatives of several foreign governments and industry. They would like to do business and we too, so if GNLU will provide foreign law courses, then all stakeholders, the state, foreign governments, industry, judiciary all will be helped because GNLU will have broad overview of laws of other jurisdictions.

Capacity building of Law Colleges in Gujarat

Capacity building is another hallmark of GNLU. GNLU will operate at three levels state, national and international level. At state level, GNLU will take initiative and assist our 31 law colleges to contribute to raise their education, research and training standards. In this regard, we will invite and involve principles / representatives of law colleges in GNLU events on a regular basis. This will give them opportunity to directly interact with national and international legal experts and resources.

Centres of Excellence

To assist our more than 20 million NRIs, we will be establishing a centre of private international or family laws so we can provide research and other legal assistance on issues of marriages, divorces, adoption of children, commercial and other enforcement of courts awards and decrees like matter. A premier intergovernmental organization – the Hague Conference on Private International Law, based in the Netherlands, has expressed strong support in this regard.

We all talk about globalization, industrial growth, acquisitions, and mergers but how serious are we with our agriculture and food economy laws. GNLU will have a dedicated centre to study the laws which none of the national law universities have, thus, we do not want to specialize in “glamorous” or “easily marketable” courses but we will take a serious and broad visionary approach to our education. Sport is becoming a hot industry but we do not even have a comprehensive sports law manual. Now that IPL, ICL are coming in big ways, Indian are making us proud in various Olympic and world events, we need a systematic attempt to study the “ legal infrastructure” which govern and can contribute to our sports industry, sportsmen and women and hence GNLU Centre for Sports Law. Last but not the least, GNLU Centre for Corporate and Investment will provide dedicated assistance to our corporate houses on contracts, acquisition, mergers, and securitizations, etcetera.

Value and ethics based education

May I reiterate that one of the important challenges faced by the best of educational institutions today is the lack of emphasis on values, ethics and the concepts of fairness and justice. This is not a trend of the decade. It has been happening for over half a century. Striking examples show that today’s white collar criminals graduate from the best of a country’s institution the world over. GNLU aspires to be one of the best, and is conscientiously working toward ensuring that its graduates develop the guts to put up with the costs of temporary unpopularity for a greater cause of developing society.

Ethics could teach us only those purposes and ideals. If the teachers seek insight into the means by which the aim can be reached, into the facts by which the child can be molded, his way must lead from ethics to psychology (…) water flows downhill, anyhow, but to bring the water uphill hydraulic forces  are indeed necessary. To overcome nature and instead to prepare for a life of ideals, to inhibit personal desires and instead to learn to serve the higher purposes indeed demands most serious and most systematic efforts. It is the teacher’s task to make these efforts with all his best knowledge of mind and body, of social and of cultural values.

This institution’s alumni aspire to be stalwarts just like you. This establishment fosters character, and hones the skills of the individual students and guiders to zenith.  Let me share with you an inspiring example of character of our students. The other day when our students got campus recruitment offers, they immediately promised to offer their first salaries to the GNLU. Normally, we tend to give our salary to parents or offer a party but these GNLU students offered to the University to establish GNLU alumni. Let me on behalf of the University and on behalf of many others express a deep sense of gratitude to you for your example.

The legal profession is said to be a million strong, which includes approximately 6 lakh to 7 lakh practicing in the private sector as litigating lawyers, about 1 lakh or more working as in-house counsel in the corporate sector and an equal number involved in the public sector. The National Law University graduates constitute a major portion of corporate counsels. GNLU, being one of them, aspires not only to churn out successful graduates in the corporate sector, but also create a pool of judges, litigators, social workers, civil servants, politicians, corporate leaders and diplomats; not one of them, but all of them.

In a nutshell, GNLU is identifying its niche in the country and will make sound contribution and offer best possible cooperation to the government departments at state and federal level and seek to enhance legal education standards in working in tandem with other National Law Universities.

I see today in front of me a wave of energy, a wave of enthusiasm, a wave of creativity and it does not need much of an effort for me or any one else as a matter of fact, to see it. You, the students of today’s age, not only have the potential but also the opportunity, the platform, to make a difference in the true sense of the word. And that is the purpose of Gujarat National Law University, to keep up this spirit, channelize it and refine it. This is what drives us at present, and will continue to drive us in the future also. 

Everyone here today dreams of a better tomorrow, but we should remember that a vision without a mission, is like a road that leads nowhere. GNLU, from the very onset, has its vision clearly laid out and in order to achieve that vision, a mission is to be carried out by each and every one of you students present here today and that is to believe in your institution, to believe in your nation and most importantly, to believe in yourself.

I thank you for your kind attention and once again invite you to become a partner in our endeavors.

Bimal N. Patel

Director (Vice-Chancellor)