LL. D. - Regulations

1. Eligibility 

LL.D. may be awarded / conferred upon a person for exceptional academic achievements in the field of law or inter-disciplinary subjects having interface with law. However, it is open to a person with Ph.D. Degree in Law to register for LL.D. The dissertation/thesis submitted may be considered for the award of LL.D. Degree provided it is recommended by the competent authorities constituted for this purpose as an original and outstanding contribution to the advancement of knowledge in the filed of law and other allied disciplines.

2. Admission Procedure :

Eligible candidates, may apply to ‘The Registrar, A.P. University of Law’, Visakhapatnam in the prescribed form which can be downloaded from this website www.apulvisakha.org along with a fee of Rs. 2000/- (Rupees two thousand only) by Demand draft drawn on any nationalized bank, in Favour of “Registrar A.P. University of Law” payable at Visakhapatnam and submit the same duly filled in within the stipulated time ( 30-07-09 ) to the University Office either in person or by post to ‘The Registrar, Andhra Pradesh University of Law’, Visakhapatnam (Main Campus), Swamy Gnanananda Guest House, Palace Layout, Peda Waltair, Visakhapatnam, 530017

A candidate shall submit the following along with the application :

1. An outline of the scheme/theme of research work;
2. A chapter-wise proposal of the proposed work in about 3000 words;
3. A certificate from the Institution concerned testifying length of service, or other academic awards or credentials wherever required or applicable:
4. An attested photocopy of the Ph.D. Degree in Law;
5. One set of published papers, monographs, articles and books, if any or
6. Published work of outstanding merit or any other relevant material

3. Registration, Admission and Fee structure for the LL.D. programme : 

Registration shall be based on the initial screening of the research proposals submitted by the candidates along with the application. Only selected candidates will be called for an interview and presentation based on which final selection will be made. 

If the Admission Committee finds a candidate suitable for pursuing LL.D. programme in the University, such candidate shall be allowed to provisionally ‘register’ for the LL.D. programme on payment of Rs. 10,000/- (Rupees Ten Thousand) as registration fee. In addition to Registration fee a candidate registered for LL.D should pay:

4. Duration :

A candidate admitted to the LL.D. Degree programme shall have to complete all the prescribed requirements including submission of thesis / dissertation within a maximum period of four years from the date of registration. In exceptional cases, this may be relaxed on the recommendation of D.R.C. 

5. Doctoral Research Committee ( D.R.C. ) : 

On the completion of the admission formalities by the candidate, the Vice-Chancellor shall constitute D.R.C. with Principal Supervisor and two senior faculty of the University for every registered candidate. An outside expert may also be appointed as a member of the D.R.C. One of these faculty members having specialization in the area of Research selected by the candidate shall be the Principal Supervisor and shall be the Chairperson of the D.R.C. 

The D.R.C. shall review the research scheme submitted by the candidate and make additions/alterations or change the nature and scope of the problem, in consultation with the candidate concerned. The D.R.C. will prepare a plan of work for the entire programme, stipulating the teaching assignments, the number of seminars to be presented by the candidate and any other academic activity that the candidate should undertake. The plan of work and the nature and scope of the research problem developed by the D.R.C. shall be subject to the approval of the Vice-Chancellor, who may make additions or alterations therein, and his decision shall be final and binding.

6. Submission of the Thesis/Dissertation : 

At least three months before submission of the thesis/dissertation the candidate shall present a seminar wherein he shall present and defend the findings of his/her research work.

The seminar will be attended by the Faculty, the post-graduate students and other invited experts. In the light of the discussions and deliberation at the seminar, the drafting of the thesis shall be finalized and submitted to the AP University of Law.

While submitting his/her thesis/dissertation in five copies to the APUL for adjudication, the candidate shall comply with the following requirements :

• A certificate from the Principal Supervisor testifying of having satisfactorily completed the research work under his guidance and supervision;
• A declaration by the candidate and attested by the Principal Supervisor to the effect that the research work is of original nature and not published or submitted anywhere; either in partial or total/ fulfillment for any degree or diploma etc.
• Fee receipt of having paid Rs. 7,000/- as adjudication fee.

7. Adjudication of the Thesis / Dissertation :

The thesis submitted by the candidate shall be referred for adjudication to three External Adjudicators selected by the Vice-Chancellor, from out of a panel of External Adjudicators recommended by the D.R.C. The External Adjudicators shall send their evaluation reports to the Registrar, A.P. University of Law, Visakhapatnam in the prescribed form within a period of three months from the date of receiving the thesis. The majority recommendation of the Adjudicators shall be taken into consideration whether or not the thesis/dissertation work conforms or fulfill the requirements for the award of LL.D. degree.

The thesis shall include an abstract/summary of the thesis approximately in 1000 words. The length of the thesis shall conform to the requirements as prescribed by the D.R.C.

The thesis shall be in English only and shall be the result of candidate’s own work attaining a satisfactory standard of literary presentation.

For award of the degree of Doctor of Laws the thesis must form a distinct contribution to the knowledge in the subject and afford evidence of originality shown either by the discovery of new facts or by the exercise of independent critical analytical power.

A Viva-Voce examination will be conducted at the APUL by the Viva-Voce Committee comprising of one of the External Adjudicator and members of the D.R.C.

On successful completion of the Viva-Voce examination, the Chairperson of the D.R.C. will send recommendation to that effect to the Academic Council in the prescribed form with the signatures of all the members present, including that of External Adjudicator indicating whether or not the candidate is fit for the award of the LL.D. Degree. The LL.D. Degree will be awarded at the time of the next Convocation.

The candidate so qualified shall be eligible to obtain a Provisional Certificate from the University on payment of Rs. 2,000/- (Rs. Two thousand) only.

Where the thesis fails to obtain the majority recommendation of the three thesis adjudicators or the viva-voce adjudicator do not recommend the award of degree, the D.R.C. may decide:

To recommend that the degree be NOT awarded to the candidate;
Or
To recommend that the candidate undertake additional work on the thesis and submit the revised thesis within a specified period;
Or
To take such action as deemed appropriate before making a recommendation, provided that in making its recommendations the D.R.C. shall be guided by the opinion of the majority of the thesis adjudicators.

A candidate who is required to re-submit revised thesis for adjudication shall be re-enrolled for a period of not less than six months prior to resubmission on payment of Rs. 5,000/- (Rs. Five thousand) only as re-enrollment fee.

Only one resubmission may be permitted. Resubmission fee shall be Rs. 5,000/- (Rs. Five thousand) only.

The resubmitted thesis shall go through the same adjudication process mentioned above. If the adjudicators of the thesis including the examiners who conducted viva-voce recommend the award of the degree, the D.R.C. shall recommend the award of the degree to the Academic Council. The Academic Council shall then signify its approval for the award of the degree. On the approval of the Academic Council the degree shall be awarded to the candidate and shall be duly notified by the University. The degree shall be awarded at the next Convocation of the University.

However, the candidate shall be eligible to obtain a Provisional Certificate upon payment of Rs. 2,000/- (Rs. two thousand) only to the A.P. University of Law, Visakhapatnam.

If the resubmitted thesis also fails at the adjudication process mentioned above it shall in no case be allowed for further resubmission.

A copy of the thesis shall be deposited in the Library which shall be available for consultation by others either on loan or for photocopying. In exceptional cases, the Vice-Chancellor may withhold it for consultation for a maximum period of one year.

8. Removal of doubts :

In case of any doubt or difficulty the decision of the Chancellor shall be final and binding.