B.A.LL.B. 3rd Semester Syllabus (New Course 2025) — TU Faculty of Law: Subjects, Codes, Units, Marks & Prescribed Cases

This is the complete, unit-by-unit syllabus of the B.A.LL.B. Third Semester (New Course) as prescribed by the Faculty of Law, Tribhuvan University, in its B.A.LL.B. Curriculum 2025 A.D. — the integrated semester-system curriculum being implemented from the academic year 2081/82 B.S. Everything below is taken directly from the official curriculum published by the Faculty of Law, Dean’s Office, Balkhu.

Who is this for? B.A.LL.B. 3rd Semester students under the new 2025 course, and anyone planning their study load for the semester. Each unit is a checklist item — what is inside a unit is exactly what the examiner can lawfully ask.

Third Semester at a glance

The third semester carries 7 compulsory subjects and 21 credit hours. Every subject is taught for 48 hours, carries 3 credits and 100 full marks, with a pass mark of 50%.

Course Code	Course Title	Nature	Credit	Teaching Hours	Full Marks
LAW5201	Jurisprudence – II	Compulsory	3	48	100
LAW5202	Constitutional Law – I	Compulsory	3	48	100
IRD5203	International Relations and Diplomacy	Compulsory	3	48	100
LAW5204	Criminal Law – I	Compulsory	3	48	100
LAW5205	Public International Law – I	Compulsory	3	48	100
LAW5206	Property Law	Compulsory	3	48	100
LAW5207	Comparative Law	Compulsory	3	48	100
Total			21	336	700

Important questions for each paper

Unit-wise important questions, prepared paper by paper on this syllabus:

• Jurisprudence-II (LAW5201) — important questions
• Constitutional Law-I (LAW5202) — important questions
• International Relations and Diplomacy (IRD5203) — important questions
• Criminal Law-I (LAW5204) — important questions
• Public International Law-I (LAW5205) — important questions
• Property Law (LAW5206) — important questions
• Comparative Law (LAW5207) — important questions

LAW5201 — Jurisprudence-II (48 hours)

Course objectives: to familiarize students with the philosophy of law and the concepts of rights, duties, property, obligation and liability; to equip them with the concept and classification of jurisprudence; to enable analysis of justice, equality, rights, duties, person, property, liability and obligation; to develop the ability to explain ownership, possession and related issues.

Units and topics

1. Concept of Rights and Duties (10 hrs) — concept and classification of rights; elements and theories of legal rights; kinds of legal rights; concept and classification of duties; relationship between rights and duties.
2. Person (10 hrs) — meaning and nature of person and personality; natural and legal person; double capacity and double personality; legal status of unborn persons, dead persons and animals; theories of corporate personality.
3. Property (8 hrs) — concept and importance of property; kinds of property.
4. Liability (5 hrs) — concept of liability; kinds of liability (civil, remedial, penal, vicarious, absolute/strict); general conditions of liability.
5. Obligation (5 hrs) — meaning and concept of obligation; types of obligation.
6. Possession (5 hrs) — concept of possession; constituent elements; kinds of possession; acquisition, continuation and termination of possession; possessory remedies.
7. Ownership (5 hrs) — concept of ownership; kinds of ownership; relationship between ownership and possession.

LAW5202 — Constitutional Law-I (48 hours)

Course objectives: to acquaint students with the meaning and definition of constitution and constitutional law; to develop the ability to explain constitutionalism, the rule of law, and separation of powers with checks and balances; to explain types of constitutions comparatively; to comprehend the theoretical and implementation aspects of constitutional issues.

Units and topics

1. Introduction (10 hrs) — meaning and definition of constitution and constitutional law; nature and scope of constitutional law; sources of constitutional law: the constitution and its amendment, statutes, secondary legislation, judicial decisions, custom and convention, and the literature of constitutional experts.
2. Constitutionalism (8 hrs) — concept and meaning; essential elements; varieties: legal and political constitutionalism; liberal, socialist and developing constitutionalism.
3. Rule of Law (6 hrs) — concept; evolution of the principle; basic principles; rule of law in Nepal.
4. Separation of Power and Checks and Balances (7 hrs) — concept of separation of power; principle of checks and balances; under presidential and parliamentary constitutions; in Nepal.
5. Classification of Constitution (7 hrs) — written and unwritten; rigid and flexible; federal and unitary; republican and monarchical; parliamentary and presidential.
6. Unitary and Federal System (10 hrs) — unitary system: features and distribution of power; federal system: features, meaning and types of federalism, structure of state and division of state power, basic features of Nepalese federalism, interrelations between federal, provincial and local levels, and merits and demerits of federalism.

IRD5203 — International Relations and Diplomacy (48 hours)

Course objectives: to equip students with basic knowledge of international relations and diplomacy; to build foundational knowledge of IR theories, foreign policy, law and diplomacy; to familiarize them with world history and major issues of international relations; and to acquaint them with power, balance of power and the different aspects of diplomacy.

Units and topics

1. Introduction to International Relations (8 hrs) — concept, definition and scope; IR since 1945 (World War II, the Cold War, the War on Terror); recent trends; power: elements of national power, soft, hard and smart power; concept and techniques of balance of power.
2. Theories of International Relations (5 hrs) — realism and neo-realism; liberalism and neo-liberalism; Marxism; constructivism; feminism.
3. Major Issues of International Relations (8 hrs) — war and peace; globalization; climate change; terrorism; nationalism; human security; human rights; migration; humanitarian intervention in world politics.
4. Foreign Policy (8 hrs) — concept and definition of foreign policy and national interest; national interests and the directive principles and guiding principles of Nepal’s foreign policy under the Constitution; Nepal’s Foreign Policy, 2077; determinants of Nepal’s foreign policy; from Prithvi Narayan Shah to the present; Nepal’s relations with India, China and the USA; Nepal’s role in the UN, SAARC and BIMSTEC.
5. Introduction to Diplomacy (5 hrs) — concept, definition and techniques; bilateral and multilateral diplomacy; economic diplomacy; formal and informal diplomacy; military diplomacy; public diplomacy; old and new diplomacy.
6. Law and Diplomacy (9 hrs) — diplomatic agents and their appointments; Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961; Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963; functions of diplomatic and consular missions; privileges and immunities of missions and agents; diplomatic negotiation; rights and challenges of landlocked developing countries (Nepal).
7. Nepal’s Bilateral Treaties with India and China (5 hrs) — Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Nepal and India, 1950; Treaty of Trade and Transit between Nepal and India, 1960 with periodic revisions; Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Nepal and China, 1960; recent developments in bilateral treaties with India and China.

LAW5204 — Criminal Law-I (48 hours)

Course objectives: to acquaint students with the fundamental principles of criminal law; to familiarize them with types of offences and defences; to build comparative knowledge of criminal law across the USA, UK and India; and to enable analysis of the leading decisions of the Supreme Court of Nepal.

Units and topics

1. General Introduction to Criminal Law (10 hrs) — meaning and nature of crime and of criminal law; difference between crime, tort and breach of contract; classification of crime; jurisdiction: territorial, extra-territorial, personal and universal; extradition.
2. Historical Evolution of Criminal Law in Nepal (5 hrs) — criminal law before codification (Kirant, Licchavi, Malla and Shah periods); after codification: Muluki Ain 1910 B.S. (1853 A.D.), Muluki Ain 2020 B.S. (1963 A.D.), Muluki Criminal Code 2074 (2017 A.D.).
3. General Principles of Criminal Law (6 hrs) — ignorantia juris non excusat; nullum crimen sine lege; nulla poena sine lege; strict construction (sine lege stricta); actio personalis moritur cum persona; ex post facto law; double jeopardy; presumption of innocence.
4. Elements of Crime (8 hrs) — actus reus and its constituent elements; forms of human conduct: act, omission, state of affairs; mens rea and its categories: intention, knowledge, recklessness, negligence; doctrine of transferred malice.
5. Stages of Crime and Inchoate Offence (5 hrs) — intention, preparation, attempt, commission; inchoate offences: criminal conspiracy, incitement/abetment, criminal attempt.
6. Parties to the Crime (4 hrs) — principal offender, secondary offender, innocent agent, corporate criminal liability; accessories before, during and after the fact.
7. General Defenses (10 hrs) — concept, rationale and classification; excusable defenses: infancy, insanity, mistake, intoxication; justifiable defenses: private defense (self-defence, defence of property, defence of chastity), necessity, duress and superior order.

Prescribed cases (LAW5204)

1. Bhuvane Basnet Kshetri v. HMG Nepal, NKP (2031), No. 3, p. 87 — murder and actus reus.
2. HMG Nepal v. Mayashwori Damini, NKP (2037), No. 11, p. 261 — the crime that dies with the criminal.
3. HMG Nepal v. Rameshwar Raut Barai & Others, NKP (2041), No. 4, p. 360 — jurisdiction in criminal law.
4. Tirtha Dangol v. HMG Nepal, NKP (2042), No. 5, p. 435 — insanity.
5. Idris Miya v. HMG Nepal, NKP (2044), No. 2, p. 259 — personal jurisdiction.
6. Uttam Lama v. HMG Nepal, NKP (2061), No. 9, p. 1092 — retrospective effect of law.
7. Tek Bahadur Reule v. HMG Nepal, NKP (2061), No. 11, p. 1486 — transferred malice.
8. Jasman Limbu v. Government of Nepal, NKP (2069), No. 1, p. 84 — conspiracy.
9. Government of Nepal v. Sanjeev Kumar Singh Yadav & Others, NKP (2064), No. 10, p. 1312 — plea of self-defence in murder.
10. Manish Shrestha v. Government of Nepal, NKP (2070), No. 8, p. 1050 — nullum crimen sine lege.
11. Government of Nepal v. Kesh Bahadur Budhathoki, NLR (2062), DN 7491 — mistake of fact.
12. HMG v. Balmanjari, NKP (2040), p. 279 — general defence.

LAW5205 — Public International Law-I (48 hours)

Course objectives: to familiarize students with the meaning, nature, historical background and basis of public international law; to enable critical analysis of how international law adapts to world events; to equip them with the skills to apply international law principles; and to explore recognition, state responsibility, nationality, statelessness, refugees, asylum, extradition, jurisdiction and immunities.

Units and topics

1. Introduction (5 hrs) — definition, nature and scope of international law; origin and development; basis of international law; relation between international law and municipal law.
2. Sources of International Law (6 hrs) — treaties; custom; general principles of law; judicial decisions; writings of the most highly qualified publicists; equity, justice and good conscience (ex aequo et bono); other sources: General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, draft conventions of the ILC, state practice, considerations of humanity and modern trends.
3. International Legal Personality (6 hrs) — states; individuals; international organizations; insurgents, belligerents, mercenaries and terrorists; multinational corporations.
4. Recognition and State Succession (8 hrs) — meaning and types of recognition; theories; recognition of government and of state; effect of recognition and non-recognition; concept and theories of state succession; succession of state, government and international organization; legal consequences.
5. Nationality (4 hrs) — meaning and importance; modes of acquiring and losing nationality; nationality of corporations and assets; statelessness and refugees.
6. Asylum and Extradition (3 hrs) — meaning and types of asylum; rights and duties of asylum-seekers; concept of extradition.
7. State Responsibility (5 hrs) — nature of state responsibility; consequences of an internationally wrongful act; diplomatic protection of nationals; contractual liability; treatment of aliens and their assets; exhaustion of local remedies.
8. Jurisdiction (5 hrs) — state sovereignty and jurisdiction; bases of jurisdiction; forms: territorial, personal, maritime and in aero-space.
9. Immunities and Privileges (6 hrs) — diplomatic immunities; consular immunities; immunities of special missions; immunity of foreign states; immunities and privileges of international organizations; limitations on immunities; recent trends.

LAW5206 — Property Law (48 hours)

Course objectives: to build a foundational understanding of property law, its classifications, historical development in Nepal and the legal significance of ownership and possession; to enable analysis of acquisition, transfer, inheritance and partition with procedures, documentation and landmark interpretations; to familiarize students with land tenure systems and land laws, land reform, acquisition, compensation, co-ownership, tenancy and trusts; and to equip them with knowledge of intellectual property and dispute resolution in property matters.

Units and topics

1. Introduction to Property Law (5 hrs) — concept of property; theories; kinds; importance; historical development of property law in Nepal; sources; constitutional provisions on property rights; “property” as interpreted by the Supreme Court of Nepal.
2. Ownership and Possession (4 hrs) — concept; types; modes of acquisition; relationship; adverse possession and illegal acquisition as interpreted by the Supreme Court.
3. Acquisition and Transfer of Property (4 hrs) — modes of acquisition: possession (including adverse possession), prescription, agreement, inheritance; transfer: partition, sale, mortgage, gift, auction, legal will (asthaloh); registration and documentation of property transactions in Nepal.
4. Land Law and Land Tenure System in Nepal (8 hrs) — overview of land laws: Land Act 2021 B.S., Guthi Corporation Act 2033 B.S., Nepal Trust Act 2064 B.S., Land Measurement and Survey Act 2019 B.S., Land Revenue Act 2034 B.S., Land Acquisition Act 2034 B.S.; traditional tenures: kipat, birta, jagir, guthi, jamindari and talukdari, mohi (tenant); land reform and its impact on property ownership.
5. Land Acquisition and Compensation (3 hrs) — principle of eminent domain; procedures for land acquisition in Nepal; determination of compensation; landmark judgments.
6. Co-ownership and Joint Property (2 hrs) — rights and duties of co-owners; management and division; dissolution of co-ownership.
7. Succession and Inheritance (3 hrs) — concept of succession and inheritance; rights and liabilities of heirs and beneficiaries; procedures of claiming inheritance in Nepal; landmark judgments.
8. Partition (4 hrs) — concept and significance; types of partition; procedures and formalities for seeking partition in Nepal; landmark judgments.
9. Tenancy and Land Laws (2 hrs) — rights and obligations of landlords and tenants; upper ceiling of land ownership and tenancy.
10. Trusts and Charitable Institutions (2 hrs) — trusts as a legal entity for property management; formation and administration of trusts in Nepal; charitable institutions and their regulatory framework.
11. Registration of Deeds and Documents (2 hrs) — importance and purpose of registration; obligatory registration of various deeds; registration process and requirements; transfer of land without registration of deed.
12. Intellectual Property Law (6 hrs) — overview of intellectual property law; copyrights, patent, trademark, design, trade secrets and goodwill; protection and enforcement of IP rights in Nepal; landmark judgments.
13. Dispute Resolution in Property Matters (3 hrs) — alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in Nepal; role of the courts in resolving property matters.

Prescribed cases (LAW5206)

1. Ramdulari Sravan Baishnav v. Saligram Sravan Baishnav, NKP 2065, D.N. 7939.
2. Dawa Tasi Lama v. GoN, NKP, D.N. 9499.
3. Sanu Shrestha v. GoN, NKP 2074, D.N. 9986.
4. Guljariya Devi Yadavni v. Gunjeshwari Devi Yadav, NKP 2074, D.N. 9850.
5. Kaman Bahadur Khadka v. Shiwa Kumari Khadka, NKP 2063, D.N. 7792.
6. Jhagmi Palvar Bist v. Diki Dolkar Palvar Bist, NKP 2067, D.N. 8359.
7. Minbahadur Basnet v. Bedkumari Basnet, NKP 2059, D.N. 7087.
8. Adv. Om Prakash Aryal v. GoN, 078-WC-0004, decision dated 2080-10-24.
9. Kiran Shoes v. Department of Industry, NKP 2062, D.N. 7536.
10. Mount Bruary v. United Bruary, NKP 2067, D.N. 8356.
11. Ram Pratap Khadka v. Kathmandu Metropolitan Police, Hanumandhoka, NKP 2072, D.N. 9435.

LAW5207 — Comparative Law (48 hours)

Course objectives: to familiarize students with the foundations of comparative law, its origin, functions and relevance in a globalized legal context; to acquaint them with the major legal systems of the world; to enable analysis and comparison of the structures, sources and legal professions of different systems; and to develop the ability to identify similarities and differences between legal systems.

Units and topics

1. Comparative Law and Legal Systems (12 hrs) — concept and genesis of comparative law; relationship and distinction with other disciplines; importance of studying comparative law; functions, objectives and uses; division of comparative law; problems of studying foreign law; comparative law in the era of globalization; concept and origin of a legal system; components of a legal system; criteria for grouping legal systems into major families; major legal systems of the world.
2. Common Law System (8 hrs) — concept, origin and development of English and American law; sources; court structure; legal profession.
3. Civil Law System (8 hrs) — origin, development and sources; concept and origin of Roman, French and German law; court structure; legal profession.
4. Socialist Legal System (4 hrs) — concept, origin and development; sources.
5. Religious Legal System (4 hrs) — concept and origin of Muslim and Hindu law; schools; sources.
6. Comparison of Legal Systems (4 hrs) — inquisitorial versus adversarial system; common law versus civil law system.
7. Confucian Law, Modern Laws of South Asia and East Asia (8 hrs) — Chinese legal system: concept of Confucian law, concept and sources of modern Chinese law, court structure and legal profession; Japanese legal system: concept and sources, court structure and legal profession; Indian legal system: concept and sources, court structure and legal profession.

How the third semester is evaluated

• Internal evaluation — 40%. For theoretical subjects, 40% of the total marks are allocated to internal assessment based on class attendance, assignments, presentations and project work, with a minimum pass mark of 50%.
• Semester-end (board) examination. The Final Board Examination of each semester is administered by the Faculty of Law. (If internal marks exceed the semester-end marks by more than 20%, the internal marks are adjusted so as not to exceed the 20% threshold.)
• Attendance. A minimum of 80% class attendance is mandatory to sit for the examination; students with at least 70% attendance may be allowed to appear on valid, documented grounds.
• Progression. A student may not progress to the next semester without passing at least one subject in the current semester.
• Make-up examinations. Students who fail in no more than two subjects across the ten semesters are given an opportunity to appear in make-up examinations held with the next cycle of regular exams, or within one month after publication of the tenth-semester result.

Where the syllabus comes from

The B.A.LL.B. Curriculum 2025 A.D. was published by the Faculty of Law, Dean’s Office, Tribhuvan University (Curriculum Development Centre, Kirtipur; first edition 2082, November 2025), and expanded the programme from 189 to 204 credit hours across nine subject committees. The third semester is unchanged in structure from that publication — seven compulsory papers, twenty-one credits.

Free resources

Start with the free Unit 1 of any third-semester subject — Jurisprudence-II Unit 1, Constitutional Law-I Unit 1, IRD Unit 1, Criminal Law-I Unit 1, PIL-I Unit 1, Property Law Unit 1 and Comparative Law Unit 1. Unit 1 of every subject is free to read on this site.