| UGC NET Law Syllabus 2026 |
| Units | Topics |
| Jurisprudence | - Nature and sources of law
- Schools of jurisprudence
- Law and morality
- Concept of rights and duties
- Legal personality
- Concepts of property, ownership and possession
- Concept of liability
- Law, poverty and development
- Global justice
- Modernism and post-modernism
|
| Constitutional and Administrative Law | - Preamble, fundamental rights and duties, directive principles of state policy.
- Union and State executive and their Interrelationship
- Union and State legislature and distribution of legislative powers
- Judiciary
- Emergency provisions
- Temporary, transitional, and special provisions in respect of certain states
- Election Commission of India
- Nature, scope and importance of administrative law
- Principle of natural justice
- Judicial review of administrative actions – Grounds
|
| Law of Crimes | - General principles of criminal liability – Actus reus and mens rea, individual and group liability and constructive liability
- Stages of crime and inchoate crimes – Abetment, criminal conspiracy and attempt
- General exceptions
- Offences against human body
- Offences against state and terrorism
- Offences against property
- Offences against women and children
- Drug trafficking and counterfeiting
- Offences against public tranquility
- Theories and kinds of punishments, compensation to the victims of crime
|
| Public International Law and IHL | - International law – Definition, nature and basis
- Sources of International law
- Recognition of states and governments
- Nationality, immigrants, refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs)
- Extradition and asylum
- United Nations and its organs
- Settlement of international disputes
- World Trade Organization (WTO)
- International humanitarian law (IHL) – C
|
| Law of Torts and Consumer Protection | - Nature and definition of tort
- General principles of tortious liability
- General defenses
- Specific torts – Negligence, nuisance, trespass and defamation
- Remoteness of damages
- Strict and absolute liability
- Tortious liability of the State
- The Consumer Protection Act 1986 – Definitions, consumer rights and redressal mechanism
- The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 – No fault liability, third party insurance and claims tribunal
- The Competition Act, 2002 – Prohibition of certain agreements, abuse of dominant position and regulation of combinations
|
| Commercial Law | - Essential elements of contract and e-contract
- Breach of contract, frustration of contract, void and voidable agreements
- Standard form of contract and quasi-contract
- Specific contracts – Bailment, pledge, indemnity, guarantee and agency
- Sale of Goods Act, 1930
- Partnership and limited liability partnership
- Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881
- Company law – Incorporation of a company, prospectus, shares and debentures
- Company law – Directors and meetings
- Corporate social responsibility
|
| Family Law | - Sources and schools
- Marriage and dissolution of marriage
- Matrimonial remedies – Divorce and theories of divorce
- Changing dimensions of institution of marriage – Live-in relationship
- Recognition of foreign decrees in India on marriage and divorce
- Maintenance, dower and stridhan
- Adoption, guardianship and acknowledgement
- Succession and inheritance
- Will, gift and wakf
- Uniform Civil Code
|
| Environment and Human Rights Law | - Meaning and concept of ‘environment’ and ‘environmental pollution’
- International environmental law and UN Conferences
- Constitutional and legal framework for protection of environment in India
- Environmental Impact Assessment and control of hazardous waste in India
- National Green Tribunal
- Concept and development of human rights
- Universalism and cultural relativism
- International Bill of Rights
- Group rights – Women, children, persons with disabilities, elderly persons, minorities and weaker sections
- Protection and enforcement of human rights in India – National Human Rights Commission, National Commission for Minorities, National Commission for Women, National
- Commission for Scheduled Castes, National Commission for Schedule Tribes and National Commission for Backward Classes
|
| Intellectual Property Las and Information Technology Law | - Concept and meaning of intellectual property
- Theories of intellectual property
- International conventions pertaining to intellectual properties
- Copyright and neighboring rights – Subject matters, limitations and exceptions, infringement and remedies
- Law of patent – Patentability, procedure for grant of patent, limitations and exceptions, infringement and remedies
- Law of trademark – Registration of trademarks, kinds of trademarks, infringement and passing off, remedies
- Protection of Geographical Indications
- Bio-diversity and Traditional Knowledge
- Information technology law- digital signature and electronic signature, electronic governance, electronic records and duties of subscribers
- Cyber crimes, penalties and adjudication
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Comparative Public Law and System of Governance
| - Comparative Law – Relevance, methodology, problems and concerns in Comparison
- Forms of governments – Presidential and parliamentary, unitary and federal
- Models of federalism – USA, Canada and India
- Rule of Law – ‘Formal’ and ‘substantive’ versions
- Separation of powers – India, UK, USA and France
- Independence of judiciary, judicial activism and accountability – India, UK and USA
- Systems of constitutional review – India, USA, Switzerland and France
- Amendment of the Constitution – India, USA, and South Africa
- Ombudsman –Sweden, UK and India
- Open Government and Right to Information – USA, UK and India
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