BRICS is a grouping acronym that refers to the countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa which are at a similar stage of newly advanced economic development. The grouping was originally known as BRIC before the inclusion of South Africa in 2010. African credentials are important geopolitically, giving BRICS a four-continent breadth, influence and trade opportunities. South Africa's addition is a deft political move that further enhances BRICS’ power and status. The acronym was coined in 2001 by Jim O'Neill from investment bank Goldman Sachs in a paper entitled "Building Better Global Economic BRICs. The acronym has come into widespread use as a symbol of the apparent shift in global economic power away from the developed G7 economies towards the developing world.
The five BRICS countries represent almost 3 billion people, or approximately 46% of the world population. The five nations have a combined nominal GDP of US$16.039 trillion, equivalent to approximately 20% of the gross world product, and an estimated US$4 trillion in combined foreign reserves. Together, BRICS represents 26% of the planet's land mass. Presently, all five of the BRICS countries are members of the World Trade Organization.
As major stakeholders in global economy and some of the leading participants of the world trading order, the BRICS have much to gain by collaborating in trade-related areas of mutual interest. In addition to bolstering cooperation in the areas of mutual concern, which will be highly beneficial for policy-makers, legislators and professionals involved in relevant disciplines, the following activities are proposed to be carried out under the auspices of the BRICS Institute of Law.
In an innovative step towards development of regional arrangement at an academic and research platform, and also with the aim of fortifying our relationships with legal education institutions elsewhere on the globe, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed in the winter of 2015 to establish the ‘BRICS Law Institute Project’. The participants in this MoU are:
Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
University of Sao Paulo (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Ural State Law University (Yekaterinburg, Russia)
National Law University (Jodhpur, India)
Beijing Union University (Beijing, China)
University of Pretoria (Pretoria, Republic of South Africa)
Thus, as amongst six universities, ‘National Law University Jodhpur’ is the only Indian university. The NLU Jodhpur BRICS Law Institute is thereby, the outcome of an alliance committed to facilitating, fostering, and promoting interdisciplinary, intercultural, and inter-stakeholder collaborative research initiatives. With the aid of international conferences, moot court competitions, pioneering an academic journal, along with an initiative to establish a certificate course on BRICS Law, we seek to follow up on the endeavor.
1. Student and Faculty Exchange Program
Pursuant to the MoU, a program for academic exchange of students and faculty is proposed. This will be an opportunity for students and faculty to gain exposure to methods of instruction and academic learning in a foreign setting, adding an enriching international dimension to their University experience.
2. Yearly Conference
The six Universities will host an academic conference in succession to facilitate dialogue and interchange of ideas among academicians and researchers from various BRICS countries.
3. Online Audio-Visual Classroom
The Institute of BRICS law will conduct Online Audio-Visual classrooms to promote greater interaction between faculty and students studying in various Universities which are a part of the MoU through various means such as video guest lectures, virtual symposiums et cetera.
4. Internships
The Institute would facilitate placing of students in internship programs in various organizations engaged in trade policy research in the BRICS. This would give the students a exposure to practical aspects of international economic law and policy.
5. Summer and Winter Courses
The Institute also proposes to conduct summer/winter courses on specialized areas of BRICS law which are not covered as a part of the main curriculum to equip the students with cutting-edge knowledge of laws prevailing in the BRICS countries.
6. Starting of PG Diploma and Certificate Course on BRICS Law
The Institute of Law also proposes to start some regular courses on the BRICS law. To begin with we can start PG Diploma on BRICS Law as well Certificate course on BRICS Law in collaboration with each other.
MEMBERS OF THE CENTER
