JNU | RTI | Directory | Contact Us | Emergency Services | List of Holidays
-A A +A

CILS

CILS

The Centre for International Legal Studies (CILS) is a pioneer in the promotion of teaching and research in International Law. The history of CILS goes back to the Indian School of International Studies (ISIS) that was registered by the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) at Sapru House on 25 May 1956. Several renowned International Law scholars of time such as Prof. Quincy Wright, Prof. Percy Corbett and Prof. Julius Stone, contributed in laying a strong foundation for the study of International Law at post-graduate and doctoral levels within a unique architecture of ISIS. It was followed up and institutionalized by two eminent Indian International law scholars: Prof. R.P. Anand and Prof. Rahmatullah Khan who joined ISIS in 1965. Thus, International Law program became a ‘spinal cord’ in the larger school of advanced learning that came to be popularly known as International Studies. It showed vision of the early founders of the School to make International Law indispensable in the conduct of foreign policy and international relations. With the establishment of Jawaharlal Nehru University, the ISIS merged with it (1970) and was re-designated as School of International Studies (SIS).

 

CILS offers specialized Ph.D. Program as well as three MA Core Courses (International Law of Peace, Legal Controls of International Conflict as well as International Law & Organization) for the School’s M.A. (PISM) and MA (IRAS) programs, respectively. The Centre is engaged in cutting-edge research on International Law issues of historical, contemporary and future global relevance. Over the years, the faculty of the Centre has laid special emphasis on a perspective of the developing countries (now called the Global South) and contributed in shaping the global discourses in various areas of International Law, international law-making and institution-building processes as well as study of the Indian practice in joining multilateral treaties and international organizations in furtherance of vital national interests. The Centre has been instrumental in promoting the usage of International Law language (such as ‘respect’; ‘commitment’; ‘at work’; ‘taking it seriously; ‘making it work’) both within India and the world at large. The study areas of the Centre include International Law, International Trade Law, International Economic Law, Law of International Organization, International Environmental Law, Settlement of International Disputes, International Human Rights Law, International Humanitarian Law, International Criminal Law, International Law of the Sea, Intellectual Property Law, International Air & Space Law and Gender in International Law.

A warm welcome to the modified and updated website of the Centre for East Asian Studies. The East Asian region has been at the forefront of several path-breaking changes since 1970s beginning with the redefining the development architecture with its State-led development model besides emerging as a major region in the global politics and a key hub of the sophisticated technologies. The Centre is one of the thirteen Centres of the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi that provides a holistic understanding of the region.

Initially, established as a Centre for Chinese and Japanese Studies, it subsequently grew to include Korean Studies as well. At present there are eight faculty members in the Centre. Several distinguished faculty who have now retired include the late Prof. Gargi Dutt, Prof. P.A.N. Murthy, Prof. G.P. Deshpande, Dr. Nranarayan Das, Prof. R.R. Krishnan and Prof. K.V. Kesavan. Besides, Dr. Madhu Bhalla served at the Centre in Chinese Studies Programme during 1994-2006. In addition, Ms. Kamlesh Jain and Dr. M. M. Kunju served the Centre as the Documentation Officers in Chinese and Japanese Studies respectively.

The academic curriculum covers both modern and contemporary facets of East Asia as each scholar specializes in an area of his/her interest in the region. The integrated course involves two semesters of classes at the M. Phil programme and a dissertation for the M. Phil and a thesis for Ph. D programme respectively. The central objective is to impart an interdisciplinary knowledge and understanding of history, foreign policy, government and politics, society and culture and political economy of the respective areas. Students can explore new and emerging themes such as East Asian regionalism, the evolving East Asian Community, the rise of China, resurgence of Japan and the prospects for reunification of the Korean peninsula. Additionally, the Centre lays great emphasis on the building of language skills. The background of scholars includes mostly from the social science disciplines; History, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, International Relations and language.

Several students of the centre have been recipients of prestigious research fellowships awarded by Japan Foundation, Mombusho (Ministry of Education, Government of Japan), Saburo Okita Memorial Fellowship, Nippon Foundation, Korea Foundation, Nehru Memorial Fellowship, and Fellowship from the Chinese and Taiwanese Governments. Besides, students from Japan receive fellowship from the Indian Council of Cultural Relations.