RGNUL MOOT COURT COMMITTEE

Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab has always envisioned serving the society through reforms in legal services by way of preparing professionally competent lawyers. The current moot was a complete reflection of the motto of our university which is ‘knowledge empowers’.

Mooting is always an integral part of a law student’s life, and thus, finds a very regular mention at our university. To further the mooting culture of our university and to provide the participants with a platform to showcase their advocacy, the University organizes various moot court competitions.

The RGNUL Moot Court Committee is one of the leading and most active committees here at RGNUL, the significance of the committee is immense. The committee has been known for organizing various moots and related activities aimed at promoting a positive sense for mooting culture. The committee also facilitates the allotment of various national and international moot court competitions to the teams who proudly represent RGNUL in these competitions.

The various mooting and other related activities undertaken by the RMCC are follows:

A.  MOOT COURT COMPETITIONS

1.  4^th RGNUL National Moot Court Competition, 2015

The flagship moot of RGNUL i.e. 4^th RGNUL National Moot Court Competition, 2015 was held from 27^th - 29^th March, 2015. The moot witnessed a response of around 50 teams from all over India. The moot problem was based on constitutional law. The judges for the finals were Hon’ble Mr. Justice Haripal Verma, Judge, Punjab and Haryana High Court, Hon’ble Mr. Justice P. B. Bajalchri, Judge, Punjab and Haryana High Court, Prof. (Dr.) Balram Gupta, former Director, National Judicial Academy, Bhopal, Prof. (Dr.) P.S. Jaswal, Vice Chancellor, RGNUL, Punjab and Prof. (Dr.) Nishtha Jaswal, Professor of Law, Department of Laws, Panjab University. Moot proposition is available at https://rgnul.ac.in/PDF/6847c910-b83c-431e-bb58-c51d58901374.pdf.

2.  Stetson International Environmental Law Moot Court Competition, 2015-16 (India Rounds)

The Stetson International Environmental Law Moot Court Competition, 2015-16 (India Rounds) was organized by RGNUL in collaboration with Surana & Surana International Attorneys. It was held from 27^th - 29^th November, 2015. Details are available at https://www.rgnul.ac.in/events.aspx?ref_id=32.

3.  5^th RGNUL National Moot Court Competition, 2016

The flagship moot of RGNUL i.e. 5^th RGNUL National Moot Court Competition, 2016 was held from 25^th - 27^th March, 2016. The moot problem was based on criminal law. Details are available at https://www.rgnul.ac.in/events.aspx?ref_id=52.

4.  1^st National Animal Law Moot Court Competition, 2016

The 1^st National Animal Law Moot Court Competition, 2016 was organized by RGNUL in collaboration with the International Council for Jurists (ICJ) and was sponsored by the Humane Society International and Lawmentage. It was held from 26^th - 28^th August, 2016. The moot witnessed a response of around 25 teams from all over India. The moot problem was based on animal rights law and public international law.  The judges for the finals were Hon’ble Mr. Justice Anil R. Dave, Judge, Supreme Court of India, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Suryakant, Judge, Punjab and Haryana High Court, Prof. Veer Singh, Former Director (Academics) Chandigarh Judicial Academy, Prof. (Dr.) Nishtha Jaswal, Professor of Law, Department of Laws, Panjab University, and Prof. (Dr.) Anirudh Prasad, Professor of Law, RGNUL, Punjab.

5.  6^th RGNUL National Moot Court Competition, 2017

The flagship moot of RGNUL i.e. 6^th RGNUL National Moot Court Competition, 2017 was held from 31^st March - 2^nd April, 2017. The moot witnessed a response of around 50 teams from all over India. The moot problem was based on criminal law and constitutional law. The judges for the finals were Hon’ble Mr. Justice Augustine George Masih, Judge, Punjab and Haryana High Court, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Deepak Sibal, Judge, Punjab and Haryana High Court, Prof. Krishan Mahajan, Additional Registrar, Supreme Court of India, Prof. (Dr.) Nishtha Jaswal, Professor of Law, Department of Laws, Panjab University and Prof. (Dr.) G.I.S. Sandhu, Registrar, RGNUL, Punjab.

6.  1^st Surana & Surana and RGNUL International Law Moot Court Competition, 2017

The 1^st Surana & Surana and RGNUL International Law Moot Court Competition, 2017 was organized by RGNUL in collaboration with Surana & Surana International Attorneys. The moot was organized from the 3^rd - 5^th November, 2017. There was participation of around 12 teams from all over India. The moot problem was based on public international law. The final rounds were judged by Prof. (Dr.) Veer Singh, Prof. S.K. Verma, and Mr. John Miller.

7.  7th RGNUL National Moot Court Competition, 2018

The flagship moot of RGNUL i.e. 7th RGNUL National Moot Court Competition, 2018 was held from 30th March - 1st April, 2018 in collaboration with the Competition Commission of India. The moot witnessed a response of around 60 teams from all over India. The moot problem was based on competition law and company law. The judges for the finals were by Dr. Bidyadhar Majhi, Director, Competition Commission of India, Dr. Vijay Aggarwal, Senior Attorney, Advaita Legal and Prof. (Dr.) Anand Pawar, Professor of Law, RGNUL, Punjab.

8.  2^nd Surana & Surana and RGNUL International Law Moot Court Competition, 2018

The first edition of the moot court competition was organized in 2017 and over the course of the past two years, it has seen overwhelming participation from students across the country. The 2nd edition of the Competition sought to test the oratory and research skills of the participating teams. The problem revolves around Public International Law, and particularly delves into the scope of surgical strikes and its legality under the principles of international law. The moot was organized from the 16^th - 18^th November, 2018. There was participation of around 23 teams from all over India. The moot problem was based on public international law.

On 17th November, 2018, the teams participated in two intellectually demanding and gruelling preliminary rounds which were adjudged by an eminent panel of academicians, practising advocates of Supreme Court and Punjab & Haryana High Court which mainly consisted of alumni of RGNUL, Punjab. The Preliminary Rounds were followed by the Quarter Final Rounds which included the top 8 teams. The quarter final and semi-final rounds were knock out rounds where the teams pushed hard for a straight win against their opponents. The teams which qualified for quarter final rounds included:

1. University Institute of Legal Studies, Panjab University

2. The Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar School of Excellence in Law

3. Army Institute of Law

4. Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur

5. Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad

6. School of Law, Christ University

7. Symbiosis law School, Noida, and

8. Bennett University

The quarter final rounds were conducted on the same day itself and were adjudged by practicing advocates and senior professors.

The top 4 teams which advanced to the semi-finals after an interesting round of quarter finals were:

1. University Institute of Legal Studies, Panjab University

2. The Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar School of Excellence in Law

3. Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur, and

4. School of Law, Christ University

The semi-finals were conducted on the evening of 17th November, and were adjudged by three judge benches each consisting of senior professors and practicing lawyers. The teams were thoroughly tested on their knowledge of law and facts. The two teams which sustained the enervating semi-finals were:

1. University Institute of Legal Studies, Panjab Univeristy

2. Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur

The final rounds were judged by Hon’ble Mr. Justice K. Kannan, Chairman, Railway Claims Tribunal (Retd.), Prof. A. David Ambrose, Professor and Head, Department of Legal Studies, University of Madras and Col. A.K. HQ, 1^st Armed Div., Patiala.

The Competition was won by Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur.

University Institute of Legal Studies, Panjab University was adjudged as runners-up.

The team representing School of Law, Christ University was adjudged as Team placed Third.

The team representing The Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar School of Excellence in Law was adjudged as Team placed Fourth.

The Best Memorial Award was given to team from Maharashtra National Law University.

The Best Second-Best Memorial Award was given to team from University Institute of Legal Studies, Panjab University.

The Third Best Memorial Award was given to team from Faculty of Law, Aligarh Muslim University.

The Fourth Best Memorial Award was given to team from Symbiosis Law School, Noida.

The Best Speaker of the event was Mr. Shourya Sarin, Army Institute of Law, Mohali.

The Second-Best Speaker of the event was, Ms. Shuvneek Hayer, University Institute of Legal Studies, Panjab Univeristy.

The Third Best Speaker of the event was Ms. Anjali Kumari, Government Law College, Mumbai.

The Fourth Best Speaker of the event was Mr. Abhishek Misra, Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab.

The Best Speaker of Finals award was given to Ms. Sonal Okhade from Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur.

The Spirit of Surana Award was given to University Law College, Bengalore.

9.  8^th RGNUL National Moot Court Competition, 2019

The flagship moot of RGNUL i.e. 8^th RGNUL National Moot Court Competition, 2019 was held from 16^th - 18^th August, 2019. The moot witnessed a response of around 70 teams from all over India. The moot problem was based on intellectual property rights and criminal law. The judges for the finals were by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Rajive Bhalla, Judge, Punjab and Haryana High Court (Retd.), Prof. (Dr.) Gurpal Singh, Head (Retd.), Punjabi University Patiala and Prof. (Dr.) B. S. Bajpai.

10.  3^rd Surana & Surana and RGNUL International Law Moot Court Competition, 2019

The 3^rd Surana & Surana and RGNUL International Law Moot Court Competition, 2019 was organized by RGNUL in collaboration with Surana & Surana International Attorneys. The moot was organized from the 15^th - 17^th November, 2019.  Prof. (Dr.) Paramjit Singh Jaswal, Vice-Chancellor, RGNUL, Prof. (Dr.) Naresh Kumar Vats, Registrar, RGNUL and Dr. S. Ravichandran (Advocate & Head, Academic Initiatives, Surana & Surana International Attorneys) and Faculty Coordinator of the Moot Court Committee, Dr. Geetika Walia inaugurated the 3rd Edition of Surana & Surana & RGNUL International Law Moot Court Competition on 15th November 2019. There was participation of around 18 teams from all over India.  The theme of the 3rd Edition of Surana & Surana & RGNUL International Law Moot Court Competition 2019 was International Criminal & Cyber Law. The competition provided a platform to test the participants & to test their advocacy & mooting skills. The final rounds were judged by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Rajive Bhalla, Judge, Punjab and Haryana High Court (Retd.), Prof. Dr. V. K. Ahuja, Law Centre Campus II, Delhi University and Prof. Dr. Vijay Kumar Singh, Dean, School of Law, UPES.

The top 2 teams which advanced to the semi-final round after the exhilarating semi-final round were:

1. Symbiosis Law School, Noida

2. University Institute of Legal Studies, Panjab University

The team which successfully emerged victorious was Symbiosis Law School, Noida.

11.  11^st AIU National Moot Court Competition, 2020

The first ever AIU National Moot Court Competition was organized by RGNUL in collaboration with the Association of Indian Universities, New Delhi from 14^th - 16^th February, 2020. Around 20 teams participated from all over India. The moot problem was based on constitutional law. The judges for the finals were Hon’ble Mr. Justice Rajive Bhalla, Judge, Punjab and Haryana High Court (Retd.), Prof. Dr. Nistha Jaswal, Vice Chancellor, HPNLU, Shimla and Prof. Dr. Anand Pawar, Professor, RGNUL, Punjab.

12.  9^th National Moot Court Competition, 2021

The Moot Court Committee of Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab organized the 9^th edition of RGNUL National Moot Court Competition, 2021 which was spread over three days, i.e. from 19^th March to 21^st March. It was conducted under the guidance of our Hon’ble Vice Chancellor Prof (Dr.) Anand Pawar, our Hon’ble Registrar Prof. (Dr.) Naresh Kumar Vats, and the Faculty Coordinator of the Moot Court Committee, Dr. Geetika Walia. The Moot proposition was drafted by Dr. Shiva Satish Sharda, Asst. Professor of Law. The Competition witnessed participation from more than 40teams across the nation, however this number was reduced to 18 due to the pandemic. On the first day, the teams participated in two intellectually demanding and grueling preliminary rounds which were assessed by an eminent panel of academicians & practicing advocates.

The top 4 teams which advanced to the semi-final round after the exhilarating quarter final round were:

1.  Symbiosis Law School, Noida

2.  Jindal Global Law School

3.  Symbiosis Law School, Pune, and

4.  Amity Law School, Madhya Pradesh

The teams were thoroughly assessed on their knowledge of law, facts and well-rounded argumentation. The two teams which qualified to finals were:

1.  Symbiosis Law School, Pune, and

2.  Amity Law School, Madhya Pradesh

The riveting and the most important final round were presided over by a three Judge Bench consisting of Prof. (Dr.) S. Shantakumar, Prof (Dr.) V.K. Ahuja and Prof. (Dr.) V.K. Singh. The team of Symbiosis Law School, Pune successfully emerged victorious at the 9^th RGNUL Moot Court Competition, 2021.

13.  4^th Surana & Surana and RGNUL International Law Moot Court Competition, 2021

The RMCC is organizing the 4^th Surana & Surana and RGNUL International Law Moot Court Competition, 2021 from the 20^th till the 22^nd of August. The committee received an overwhelming response of a total of 67 odd registrations for the moot. However, slots were available on first-come-first-serve basis, as a result of which the first 38 teams were successfully allowed to participate in upcoming the moot.  The fourth edition of the Competition intends to test the mettle of the Participating teams on various aspects of International Law ranging from tort law, company law, and public international law principles such as customary international law, international human rights law, etc., specifically focusing on the issue of human rights/labour abuses by companies. This moot will provide participants an opportunity to various institutions imparting legal education to compete and hone their skill of arguing the case in the Moot Court Competition.

B.  INTRA JUDGEMENT WRITING COMPETITION, 2020

A Judge’s life is all about demonstrating the skill to pick the most rational decision after critical countless questions. They patiently consider the arguments and counterarguments put forth by the advocates appearing for the parties at dispute and then takes the most rational and sound decision in favour of either of the parties. Although these judges make it look very easy by disposing of thousands of cases every day, but it isn’t as easy as it seems. Judgment writing is not an ordinary task, the right interpretation and avoiding vague opinions is utmost important in a good judgment. The RMCC optimistically organized the Intra Judgment Writing Competition where our main object was to provide more opportunities to all the law aspirants in order to enhance and develop their skills. The competition was organised by RGNUL Moot Court Committee in collaboration with the Centre for Advanced Studies in Labour Welfare (CASLW).

C.  WEBINARS

1.  Moot Webinar 2020

The Moot Court Committee of Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab organized a Moot Webinar on 29^th April, 2020. The session was addressed by Mr. Saunak Rajguru who is an alumnus of KIIT School of law and is currently positioned as an Attorney at J. Sagar Associates in the New Delhi office. He has been a part and winner of various distinguished national and international moot court competitions.

The webinar was exclusively conducted for the students of RGNUL to introduce them to the nuances of mooting. The event was moderated by Aditya Sharma, a member of RGNUL Moot Court Committee. The session lasted for two hours covering diverse topics such as understanding and interpreting the factual matrix of proposition, research techniques and making of an ideal memorial. It also covered the jurisdictional issues and gave some tips related to the art of articulation. Further, the speaker provided guidance pertaining to the use of research tools like SCConline, Manupatra etc.

Students from all the five years not only participated in the session but also actively interacted with the speaker. This session was extremely useful for first and second years as they received a momentous opportunity to learn and hone their mooting skills from a seasoned and an avid mooter. Throughout the session, Mr Rajguru patiently answered all the queries raised by students which added to the knowledge base of the students.

2.  One-day webinar on ‘Force Majure: Commercial Applicability in the Energy Sector

The Moot Court Committee of Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab in collaboration with J. Sagar Associates organized a webinar on 31st July 2020. The theme of the webinar was “Force Majeure: Commercial Applicability in the Energy Sector”. The webinar was addressed by Ms. Poonam Verma, Partner at J. Sagar Associates, New Delhi. Her views on the topic in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic gave insights into the topic. It was attended by 70 odd students of the Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law.

RGNUL MOOT COURT COMMITTEE 

2021 - 22

Email: mootcommittee@rgnul.ac.in

Contact Number : 0175-2391372