Chanakya National Law University (CNLU) is a state law university in Patna established on 15 July 2006 under the Chanakya National Law University Act, 2006, Bihar Act No. 24 of 2006. It was created by the Government of Bihar to develop advanced legal education, research and professional training within the state. The university began functioning in 2006 from the campus of the A. N. Sinha Institute before moving to its permanent Mithapur campus in August 2010. CNLU is included by the University Grants Commission under Section 2(f) and is eligible for central assistance under Section 12(B); its law programmes are also subject to the standards of the Bar Council of India. The university’s academic model combines integrated undergraduate legal education, postgraduate study, doctoral research and specialized centres that examine contemporary legal and policy questions. Its teaching environment emphasizes doctrinal law together with research, advocacy, drafting, clinical exposure and interdisciplinary study. The central library, established alongside the university in 2006, moved with the institution to the permanent campus and operates from Nishant Nilayam, providing legal texts, journals and digital resources. CNLU’s research ecosystem includes centres devoted to areas such as alternative dispute resolution, competition law, intellectual property, human rights, public policy and other specialized branches of law. Mooting, legal aid, seminars, conferences and internships form part of the wider professional environment expected of a national-law-university model. Because CNLU was founded specifically to strengthen legal education in Bihar, its role extends beyond classroom instruction to legal research, public engagement and capacity building for the justice system. The university’s Patna location also places students close to the Patna High Court, state institutions and a substantial legal community, supporting interaction between academic study and professional practice. Its founding was also intended to reduce the need for Bihar students to leave the state for high-quality public legal education.