test: SAARCLAW- JLU Moot Court Competition 2019

“Litigation must work in public interest” - Justice Sinha, Supreme Court of Nepal.

The flagship event of Jagran Lakecity University, School of Law, SAARCLAW-JLU Moot Court Competition, 2019 kicked off on February 15 and lasted till 17^th February 2019 at Jagran Lakecity University. Renowned legal luminaries and participants from 30 law institutions from India and SAARC countries witnessed the majestic inaugural ceremony which was graced by Honorable Mr. Justice Anil Sinha, Judge, Supreme Court of Nepal, Prof. (Dr.) V. Vijayakumar, Vice Chancellor, NLIU Bhopal, Shri. Hari Mohan Gupta, Honorable Chancellor, JLU, Prof. (Dr.) Anoop Swarup, Vice-Chancellor, Prof. (Dr.) Yogendra Srivastava, Dean Student Welfare & Director, JLU School of Law and other dignitaries of the University.

Justice Anil Sinha, in his inaugural address, opined that law students must obtain experience of litigation which develops fighting spirit in them. He said that a budding lawyer must fight with his own lack of confidence first to conquer any challenge in life with conviction. He then mentioned about his experience in the city of lakes Bhopal to be a delightful one.

Prof. V. Vijayakumar in his address congratulated the University management for organizing an event of international level in Bhopal. He then motivated all of the participating teams to use their advocacy skills for giving a tough fight to their opponents. Shri. Hari Mohan Gupta applauded efforts of JLU School of Law for setting a benchmark in legal education in Madhya Pradesh. He then welcomed participants who came from various parts of India and other SAARC countries to Bhopal and motivated them to give their best in the competition.

At the beginning of the ceremony, Dean Student Welfare and Director of JLU School of Law Prof. (Dr.) Yogendra Srivastava delivered the welcome address. Honourable Vice Chancellor Prof. (Dr.) Anoop Swarup delivered the inaugural address in which was enriched with several anecdotes from his experience in international diplomacy. Moot Court Convener Dr. Deevanshu Shrivastava gave a brief introduction of the Moot Preposition and rounds to be conducted in the competition.

Here, 30 teams competed in the preliminary round to reach in the quarter-final, semi-final and grand finale of the competition where members of bar, bench, industry and academia evaluated the advocacy skills of participants.

DAY 2

Moot problem based on the Rohingya refugee crisis tested knowledge and abilities of budding lawyers on the second day of SAARCLAW-JLU Moot Court Competition 2019. Preliminary and Quarter Final rounds produced a fine display of advocacy skills by the participants.

To keep the competition absolutely unbiased no student from the organizing University had participated as well as none of the faculty of the University judged any round in the competition. The moot problem was based on the Rohingya refugee crisis. Renowned personalities from the legal fraternity sat as judges to evaluate the performance of the teams. It was an atmosphere of intense competition. Effort and energy put in by the teams was readily visible and impressed everyone.

In the midst of gruelling competition among the budding lawyers, it was a welcome change to relish some really artistic and colourful performances by the students of JLU School of Law. Dance performances on evergreen songs brought fresh energy in the gathering. But, the performance that stole the show was the staging of Shakespeare drama ‘Macbeth’.

Day 3

The valedictory ceremony was graced by the august presence of Honorable Justice Dipak Misra, Former Chief Justice of India. In his remarkable valedictory address which left the gathering spellbound, he emphasized that a law student must have a passion for law and legal profession to excel in the field. Many other luminaries from the law field were present in the ceremony to hear Justice Misra.

Earlier, final round consisted of Justice Anil Sinha, Supreme Court of Nepal, Justice Alok Verma, Appellate Authority, Admission and Fee Regulatory Commission, Justice N.K. Jain, Former Judge, High Court of Madhya Pradesh, Prof. (Dr.) M.K. Shrivastava, Designated Vice-Chancellor, National Law University, Sikkim and Mr. Rahul Sundaram, Senior Corporate Counsel, Amazon India.

After vying for attractive cash prizes, the first prize of 1.5 Lakhs was bagged by Dr. Ambedkar Law University, Tamil Nadu while UILS, Chandigarh were runners-up with bearing cash prize of Rs. 1 Lakh. Apart from these, the best memorial award went DSNLU, Vizag, Vishakhapatnam, the best researcher award was bagged by Agnes Mary Jane, Dr. Ambedkar Law University, Tamil Nadu and the best speaker award went to Stuti Shrivastava, RGNUL, Patiala.