CLAT stands for Common Law Admissions Test. It is an all India entrance examination conducted by the National Law Schools/Universities for admissions to their undergraduate and post-graduate degree programmes (LL.B & LL.M). The responsibility of conducting the exam is rotated and given on the basis of seniority in establishment. As Law is a dynamic subject, hence it cannot be studied in isolation without any association with other subjects like political science, economics, etc. Getting into an NLU will provide students the best environment and platform to study this dynamic field.

QUICK FACTS ON CLAT

The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT), is an All-India entrance examination, conducted on rotation by 22 National Law Universities (NLUs) for admissions to their Under-Graduate and Post-Graduate degree programmes.

 

EXAM HIGHLIGHTS DETAILS
Exam Name CLAT (Common Law Admission Test)
CLAT Exam Conducting Body Consortium of National Law Universities
CLAT Exam Level UG and PG
CLAT Exam Frequency Once a year
CLAT Exam Mode Offline
CLAT Exam Duration 120 Minutes
CLAT Exam Language English
CLAT Exam Purpose Admissions to BA LLB, BCom LLB, BSc LLB, BBA LLB, BSW LLB, LLM courses

Consortium of NLUs

The CLAT Exam is conducted every year by the Consortium of NLUs. The body consists of representatives from all of the top NLUs which accept the CLAT Score (every NLU except NLU Delhi). It was established in 2017 so that the admission process into the NLUs could be regularised to a degree.

It has also undertaken the first major change in the CLAT Exam Pattern in CLAT 2020 which means that the likelihood of any changes in CLAT 2022 is minimal. Currently it is headed by an executive committee which contains members from NALSAR Hyderabad, NLU Jodhpur, NLSIU Bangalore, NLIU Bhopal

WHY CLAT?

The following are some of the benefits of CLAT.

  • Law courses open up a lot of different avenues. You will get to learn many things.
  • Lawyers are not taught only about Law. You will get to learn how to make decisions based on facts and reasoning.
  • You can choose any specialization you want, such as Criminal, Civil, Corporate, etc. You also do not need to restrict yourself to a single specialization.
  • Getting into top NLUs brings students to the centre of attraction of the law firms and corporate. This NLU tag helps in securing well-paid jobs in most reputed companies.
  • These NLUs prepare students for the real-life world, be it practice in court or judiciary. It inculcates students with skills and training to succeed in every career path they choose.

CLAT 2022 Exam Pattern

The CLAT exam is a test of one's aptitude and reasoning abilities. It comprises of five sections namely: Verbal Ability, Quantitative Aptitude, Logical Reasoning, General Knowledge, and Legal Aptitude.

Each question carries 1 mark and for every incorrect attempt, 0.25 marks will be deducted.

 

Subject/Section Topic
English Language 28-32 (20% of the paper)
Quantitative Techniques 13-17 (10% of the paper)
Logical Reasoning 28-32 (20% of the paper)
Current Affairs, including General Knowledge 35-39 (25% of the paper)
Legal Reasoning 35-39 (25% of the paper)
Total Marks 150
Total Time (min) 120
Negative Marking 0.25 marks for each wrong answer

CLAT 2022 Syllabus

The CLAT 2022 Exam shall be conducted in offline mode where the paper will have 150 questions from five different subjects including English (Comprehension), General Knowledge & Current Affairs, Elementary Mathematics (Numerical Ability), Legal Aptitude and Logical Reasoning. The CLAT 2022 Syllabus according to the sections is given below:

English language: This section will test the candidates' proficiency in English based on comprehension passages. Students will be given passages of about 450 words each and such passages could be fiction/ non-fiction, contemporary/historical, etc. Candidates will be questioned on their understanding of the passage and its central theme, meanings of words used therein, etc. The inference would be key here, candidates will have to comprehend the main idea discussed in the passage including any counter-arguments used in the passage.

Current Affairs including General Knowledge: This section would again consist of passages instead of direct questions that were asked earlier. The passages would again be of 450 words each and the same would be derived from news, journals, etc. Questions based on such passages would be asked. Such a question can cover static portion as well, candidates are therefore advised not to forgo the static portion entirely. Reading Newspapers daily, specifically, articles containing any Bill or Judgments or legal information should help in preparing for this section.

Quantitative Techniques: The Quantitative Technique or Maths section will include short sets of facts or propositions, graphs, or other textual, pictorial or diagrammatic representations of numerical information, followed by a series of questions. The questions will be in the form of Data Interpretation i.e. candidates would be required to infer information from the given passage and answer accordingly.

Legal Reasoning: This section will test the candidate's interest in the study of law, research aptitude, and problem-solving ability. Questions would again be based on passages relating to facts or scenarios involving legal matters. The passage would contain certain rules and principles which should be identified and accordingly applied to the questions. The passages would be approximately 450 words each.

Logical Reasoning: The purpose of the logical reasoning section is to test the candidate's ability to identify patterns, logical links, and rectify illogical arguments. The questions would be based on the passage of 300 words.

Top Law Entrance Exams

  1. CLAT- NLU’s + Affiliated universities.
  2. LSAT-Law school Admission test
  3. AIBE-All India Bar Exam
  4. AILET-All India Law Entrance Test (Only for NLU (Delhi))
  5. All Entrance Test (Army Institute of Law)
  6. SET (Symbiosis Entrance Test)
  7. BVP CET Law (Bharathi Vidyapeeth Common entrance test)
  8. AMU Law entrance exam (Aligrah Muslim University)
  9. BHU-UET (Banaras Hindu University)