The Faculty of Law was established in 1924. With the demand for an increase of seats in LL.B., Law Centre I was established in the year 1970 and commenced its classes for the LL.B. in the evening in the D.A.V. School building at Paharganj. Soon it was relocated to the N.P. School building at Mandir Marg. In 1994, Law Centre I was relocated to the main campus of the Faculty of Law on Chhatra Marg. Later, the University of Delhi allocated a five-storey building to the Law Faculty in 2015, the Umang Bhawan which is in close vicinity of the old premises on Chhatra Marg. Umang Bhawan is equipped with all the modern amenities like elevators, CCTV cameras, spacious and modern classrooms with multi-media facilities among others.
Law Centre I focuses on the development of the all-around personality of its students, teachers and non-teaching staff. Teaching in the Centre is focused on developing the practical skills required for the profession and its teachers use clinical methods of teaching like simulation, role plays, group activities and experiential learning. The Centre initiated the LL.M. three year program in 1972 and conducted its classes completely on a pro-bono basis without seeking any financial assistance from the University of Delhi or the University Grants Commission. Later, this program was taken over by the Faculty of Law. The Centre has been awarded Commendation Prize of one lakh rupees by the University of Delhi during the Antardhwani Competition in which 37 departments of the University of Delhi competed for best practices. Its students have won prizes in Moot Court Competitions, Client Interview Competitions, debates, essay competitions and Sports. It has the unique distinction of having bagged six National Level Trophies in Basketball Competition in the year 2017-18.
The Centre has been consistently and continuously working to develop pedagogy for teaching social justice, human rights and gender justice. Law Centre I pioneered Faculty Development Programmes in the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi. It conducted the first Faculty Development Program in the year 2006 for its newly appointed teachers. In 2007, another FDP “Mainstreaming Gender in Legal Education” was conducted under the leadership of teachers from Law Centre I by the Faculty of Law. Since then FDPs have been conducted time and again by the Faculty of Law with the lead being taken by LC-I teachers.
The Legal Services Society was formally established in Law Centre I in 2012. It acts as a medium of connect between its students and society and actively engages in legal awareness campaigns and provides legal aid through its in-house Legal Services Clinic, Outreach Programmes, and Skits and Plays. It functions in close collaboration with Delhi State Legal Services Authority as well as the National Legal Services Society. The Legal Services Clinic of Law Centre-I was given the best clinic certificate in 2013 by the DALSA within one year of its establishment. In the year 2017, it bagged the Best Clinic Prize at the National Level in a competition organized by the Gujarat National Law University. The Centre is also the pioneer in initiating the National Moot Court Competition in Human Rights in the year 2013 in collaboration with National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
