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NLUO-Maritime Law Moot Court Competition, 2014

Catch the action live as it unfolds here at NLU,Odisha in the First Edition of the National Maritime Law Moot Court Competition, 2014

An estimated 20-minute read

Stetson South India Moot - Live from NLUO, Cuttack

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MPL 4: Kicking off Stetson at NLU-OHello & Welcome to the Live Blog of Stetson South India rounds taking place at National Law University Odisha, Cuttack (NLUO).

Over the next two days, we'll update you about all the courtroom drama, friendly jibes, secret gossip (for the prettier sex), Catfights (oh boy!) and plenty more.
On a somewhat serious note, the rules of the competition bar us from publishing any contentions, issues, questions or the like relating to the record (moot problem for the uninitiated) & the ongoing rounds so as to prevent leaking of any information before the Stetson North India rounds (later this month) & the International rounds (March, 2013).

On an absolutely unrelated note, everything can be bought (for a price obviously!!) & the blogger here loves the good life.(Pun intended!)
Yesterday saw the exchange of memorials and the Inauguration Ceremony, the pics of which can be accessed shortly from our facebook page,
and from the university homepage,
http://www.nluo.ac.in/stetson-india-south-2012/

10:18 AM
The Teams are busy in their last minute preparations as the time races towards the 10:45 AM marker, the tentative time for the rounds to begin. This will be the 1st round of the preliminaries for the day that will also witness the quarter-finals.


10:44 AM (Team Face-offs)
Teams pitted against each other in the Round-1 are,
1. M.S. Ramaiah College of Law, Bangalore v/s. S.D.M. Law College, Mangalore in Courtroom 1
2. CNLU, Patna v/s. Kerala Law Academy in Courtroom 2
3. J.S.S. Law College, Mysore v/s. V.M. Salgaoncar College of Law, Goa in Courtroom 3
4. NLS, Bangalore v/s. NUALS, Kochi in Courtroom 4
5. ILS, Pune v/s. NALSAR, Hyderabad in Courtroom 5


11:05 AM
The rounds have just begun. More information on the rounds, performance of teams and a lot more coming soon.

11:18 AM
The first speaker for ILS, Janhavi Pande makes a confident start in Courtroom 5. Calm throughout, she was able to answer most of the questions and the Judges seem satisfied.


11:25 AM
In Courtroom 4, NLS started on a shaky note with the first speaker faltering on a few questions but the second speaker saved the day for them. Though, have to admit that the Judges in this particular courtroom are grilling the participants intensely.
Meanwhile, in Courtroom 5, NALSAR has just begun with its contentions.

 

 


11:45 AM

In Courtroom 2, CNLU has finished presenting their case. Vagisha Pragya, the first speaker was pretty confident while the second speaker, Vibhanshu displayed some real quick time thinking by smartly dodging a tricky question of the Judge. The promising note which he began on, was maintained throughout.The team from KLA are still arguing.

While in Courtroom 5, NALSAR started with a bang with the first speaker being very persuasive and emphatic in her replies while the second speaker, Chinmayi, assisted her pretty well and fielded questions of law brilliantly. All in all, the Judges are tight-lipped and are letting the speakers present their case properly without burdening them with questions. It's a tough call to pick the winner.

 

12:00 PM

The action's over in Courtroom 5 (ILS v. NALSAR).

As for Courtroom 4, Peace Palace became a pretty Hot Palace with tempers flaring up with the NLS team grilled relentlessly on jurisdiction and maintainability. It wasn't a day for NUALS, Kochi as they were made to reconsider their position every now and then by the judges and their loopholes in preparation got magnified. Round now over. Scales seem to be tilted in NLS's favour.

 

12:10 PM

All the rounds of Prelim One are over now except that of courtroom 2. Courtroom 3 saw JSS (appellants) & VMS, Goa (respondents) in action. The team from JSS were responsive to the Judges but seemed short on knowledge on questions of fact and law. However, they did make up for it during rebuttals but maybe the comeback was a bit too late. On the other side, VMS made some glaring errors related to the legal terminology involved, but, apart from it were clear on their arguments. A point to note is that the courting etiquettes on display by both the teams was wonderful.

Courtroom 2 on the other hand, saw KLA finishing the proceedings with confidence. The Judges wanted a detailed substantiation of some legal concepts involved and it seemed as if both the speaker and the judge enjoyed the sparring. CNLU rebutted by accusing the other team of fabrication of facts and the war is still on.

As for Courtroom 1, Bangalore (M S Ramaiah) was pitted against Mangalore (SDM). The team from MSR seemed very nervous and it showed while they spoke. However, the second speaker overcame the shortcomings of the first speaker and recovered some lost ground. As for the Mangalore boys, they seemed to be having a field day with brashly relaying their knowledge of law and facts in front of the Judges, who, on their part, grilled them for a longer period of time. The scales seem to be tilted on their favour.

12:40 PM

The proceedings in Courtroom 2 are finally over now. All the teams are re-thinking their strategies for the next round of prelims supposed to start in about 25 minutes.

 

 

 

1:00 PM

The second round of preliminaries has just started.

 

1:10 PM

These are the match-ups for this round

1. School of Excellency in Law, Chennai v/s. M.S. Ramaiah College of Law, Bangalore in Courtroom 5

2. S.D.M. Law College, Mangalore v/s. CNLU, Patna in Courtroom 1

3. Kerala Law Academy v/s. J.S.S. Law College, Mysore  in Courtroom 2

4. V.M. Salgaoncar College of Law, Goa v/s. NLSIU, Bangalore in Courtroom 3

5. NUALS, Kochi v/s. ILS, Pune in Courtroom 4

 

1:20 PM

School of Excellence in Law, Chennai open their first innings in this round (this apparent anomaly is actually a piece of brilliant thinking on the part of administrators. We will explain this format after the rounds are over). As of now, they have been grilled consistently on facts and the arguments presented by them, we are told do not stand much water. However, too early to say anything for the proceedings of courtroom 5.

 

 

 

1:35 PM

Courtroom 3 witnessing hot action. The researcher of NLSIU is asked to fetch a case from the library midway but stopped almost immediately. On the other hand, Courtroom 2 has JSS being stalled on 'Res Ipsa Loquitor' while M.S. Ramaiah faces a hard time on the difference between 'may' & 'shall'.

Technicalities and questions related to finer aspects of the Record have increased in this round probably owing to the fact that the Judges are more acquainted with the problem and the major stands taken by most teams.

 

1:45 PM

Rounds get over for SOEL & MSR as both stand equal chances of winning this one. As for Courtroom 1, CNLU & SDM fought it out bitterly and both teams gave their best. The Judges seem satisfied with the responses to their questions and much can't be said about this match-up either, though CNLU seems to have a slight edge.

 

2:00 PM

Courtroom 2 saw Judges questioning the teams on absolute basics with one of the teams asked to read from the extracts more than twice. Also the authority of the cases cited was put under contention. Towards the end, the questions by and large were on general principles of International Law.

As for Courtroom 3, VMS presented their arguments fairly well and passed the test of grilling-on-facts with flying colours. They defended their authorities well but were held up on questions related to treaties.

Courtroom 4 saw ILS and NUALS locking horns with each other. A point to note is that the Judges seemed satisfied with the issues identified by the ILS contingent. They also maintained calm while answering & were not rattled by repetitive questioning. NUALS Kochi also did a fine job of defending their stance and advancing their arguments.


2:30 PM

Finally the battle between VMS, Goa and NLSIU comes to an end. The longest fought round, NLSIU had difficulty establishing a particular contention. As mentioned earlier, a hard copy of a case was asked for and one of the speakers apologised for the same. The second speaker deconstructed a situation presented by the Judges brilliantly for which the Judges seemed pleased.

 

2:45 PM

The prelim rounds are almost over with the last match-up between NALSAR & SOEL, being the only rounds remaining. The results will be announced after these rounds get over.

 

3:10 PM

NALSAR rewrites the rules in this round with exceptional performance from both the speakers, with the first speaker, Preeti Kolluri relaying the facts and the contentions(even the authorities) without even offering a glance to her speaker notes. The poor notes were last seen with a tag of Akon's 'Lonely' written all over them. The Judges seem pleased with her extensive knowledge & persuasive skills.The second speaker, Chinmayi, ended up fielding more questions than the first one but her confidence in oration and grip on statutes and particularly, usage of some latin phrases have made it an uphill task for the SOEL girls to secure a win. Indeed a brilliant job by NALSAR!

 

 

 

4:00 PM

SOEL made an interesting comeback with both the speakers trying their level best to defend their stance. One of the longest rounds of this Competition, it has had its effect on the participants. Towards the end, even the judges were asking few questions and listening more to the arguments.

 

4:40 PM

A combined photography session of all the teams just concluded.  As of now, the teams are enjoying a well-deserved break before the Quarter-Finals, which are scheduled for today itself and will begin in some time.

 

5:00 PM

Results of the Pre-lims are about to be announced.

5:07 PM

Results Out: Teams M.S. Ramaiah College of Law, Bangalore, J.S.S. Law College, Mysore & NUALS, Kochi are out of the competition.

Following teams will be facing off in the Quarter-Finals,

1. NLSIU

2. NALSAR

3. V M Salgaoncar

4. CNLU

5. KLA

6. ILS

7. S.D.M. Law

8. SOEL

5:24 PM

Match-up of teams for the quarter finals coming soon.

5:37 PM

The rounds begin in about 10 minutes. The match-up is as follows,

1. S.D.M. Law, Mangalore v/s. ILS, Pune

2. V.M. Salgaoncar, Goa v/s. SOEL, Chennai

3. KLA, Thiruvananthapuram v/s. CNLU, Patna

4. NLSIU, Bangalore v/s. NALSAR, Hyderabad

5:57 PM

Quarters begin. NLSIU begins on a very subtle note and offers a two-fold submission as a solution. The first speaker is delivering a very smooth & structured speech and so far not a single question has been raised by the Judges.

S.D.M. has had a rough start with the Judges and they have been grilled badly on their knowledge of treaties. Same goes for V.M. Salgaoncar which is facing a very active bench.

As for KLA, the first speaker just sat down after an aggressive and fast-paced speech. The Judges in this round didn't ask much questions though.

6:30 PM

The V.M. Salgaoncar is facing a very tough time with the bench. Latest example was about explaining the difference between a 'jurist' & a 'publicist'. The speech of the second speaker is still on.

As for S.D.M., this round did not go well for them either with some glaring errors made during speeches. Recovery was made but it was too late and too little to undo the damage. ILS has started with its contentions and is facing a barrage of queries from the bench.

6:50 PM

The courtroom of NALSAR just came alive with action with their first speaker being grilled on many aspects of her contentions. As per the Judge, the ratio of a particular case was presented in such a manner so as to mislead the Court. However, her subsequent reply seems to have convinced the bench. What was a pretty calm courtroom so far, is now witnessing intense exchange of statements.

7:00 PM

As for courtroom 3, KLA's opening advantage got mitigated a bit because the judges decided to penalise the second speaker on time. The Judges on this bench were very particular about the time used by the respective teams and any extra time taken by the first speaker was compensated by cutting time from that of the second speaker's speech.

7:05 PM

The CNLU speakers began with a splash of confidence that reverbrated throughout their speech. The Judges posed many questions, most of which were answered with ease. The rounds are now over and the results are still awaited.

7:18 PM

Courtroom 2 is witnessing the most active bench of the lot with the judge grilling the participants on almost all parameters. So much so, the first speaker from SOEL is still delivering her speech. The expectations of the Judges are very high!

As for NLS v. NALSAR, the second speaker for NALSAR plugged not only the holes of the sinking ship but has also set its course in the right direction. A few questions on some finer points of the Record were answered pretty well and the judges seem satisfied with the replies. The rounds are now witnessing the rebuttals.

7:22 PM

The ILS team did a pretty decent job in defending their contentions and maintained a very decent and appreciated pace of speech. The questions on various aspects, by Judges, were handled well with a few exceptions. NLS-NALSAR rounds are over too. Results are awaited for three courtrooms while the VMS v/s. SOEL battle still continues.

7:30 PM

Intense sparring on in Courtroom 2, with the Judge not relenting on any sort of lack of preparation on part of both the teams. Another example was why 'Your Excellency' is being used to refer to the bench? Interesting things being dug up now and both the teams being grilled on jurisdiction even during rebuttals! Finally the rounds come to an end.

7:48 PM

The results will be announced in about 10 minutes

 

 

 

7:57 PM

RESULTS Out: ILS, Pune, CNLU, Patna, VM Salgaoncar, Goa and NLS, Bangalore make it to the semi-finals.

8:03 PM

Match-ups for Semis Out:

ILS, Pune is pitted against CNLU, Patna

NLS, Bangalore will face V.M. Salgaoncar, Goa

8:10 PM

That brings us to the end of the Day One of the Stetson South India rounds being held at NLUO. We will be back tomorrow with the live coverage of Day Two which will witness the semis and the finals of the competition.

 

DAY TWO

10:20 AM

Welcome to the day two of the Stetson South India Rounds and as you read this the participants are brushing their coats and rehearsing their lines for the semi-finals that are about to begin in some time.

10:30 AM

The teams begin their rounds with the first speakers of both ILS & NLS making a confident start.

10:40 AM

Courtroom 1 is witnessing the first speaker from ILS being questioned on law, facts and everything possible under the roof. Judging getting intense but she is holding herself pretty strongly.

Courtroom 1 has ILS facing off CNLU while Courtroom 2 has NLS against VMS.

ENVIROTIP#1 Use as less paper as possible. It saves on trees and anyways showing your ticket on your phone looks savvier!!

11:00 AM

The first speaker of NLSIU facing an even harder time. Power politics creeps in here too with the power of the governments of the moot problem becoming a bone of contention. This stuff is interesting!!

11:10 AM

The second speaker for ILS makes an assertive speech which ultimately was subjected to a barrage of questions. The Judges are pretty particular about time and one even asked the court clerk for the time in midst of the speech. They are literally testing the mettle of the speakers in unimaginable ways. He even asked the speaker if he was sure of his prayer!! I could sit with a popcorn & watch this proceeding!!!

11:20 AM

The second speaker of NLS ended with a very convincing argument and even the judges seemed satisfied. The number of questions also went down during her speech. The first speaker of VMS has just started and he is being grilled on facts, a somewhat similar fate as that of the first speaker of NLS.

 

ENVIROTIP#2 Avoid using plastic bags. Carry a blade & if you see somebody using a plastic bag for carrying stuff, just slice it a little. Will serve as a wonderful lesson (The blogger is not responsible for any consequent actions if you fail to make a dash after doing so)

11:30 AM

Courtroom  1 is indeed the more lively one amongst the two. The first speaker for CNLU made an impression on the Judges with her sense of humor. She also smartly evaded a difficult question by answering that she is merely an agent and is hence not in a capacity to take a particular(words censored & you know why) action on behalf of the state. Overall, the proceedings in the courtroom are going on in great spirits! (without the spirits,ofcourse!)

11:45 AM

The second Courtroom is progressing on a different track altogether. The judges are very particular on facts and have grilled the participants on them aggressively. As for contentions, they allowed a decent amount of time to participants of both the teams to present their case before taking their case!

11:55 AM

ILS is now presenting it's rebuttals in a structured manner and attacking CNLU on a point to point basis. So far so good. CNLU on the other hand seems to have pleased the Judges with their arguments because their second speaker saw less questions being asked towards the end of the round. Initially, though she faced quick questions with the first coming only 30 secs into her speech. As of now, they are discussing their strategy for the rebuttals.

The rebuttals of the respondents (CNLU) ended in the most apt fashion by being subjected to humorous quirks by the bench.

12:02 PM

The proceedings in Courtroom 1 have now come to an end with both the teams having made a good impression on Judges and having an equal shot on the spoils.

12:10 PM

The rounds are over in Courtroom 2 as well with the rebuttals of VMS subjected to more cross-questioning than that of NLS.

12:15 PM

The results of both the semi-finals are awaited. Meanwhile, we'll subject you to another of our deadly envirotips

ENVIROTIP#3 Save Water. In most cities, the monthly bill costs about 500 bucks. Avoid wastage and you can rather buy a pack of C’s. (I obviously mean Chewing Gum’s! What else?)

 

 

 

 

 

 

12:30 PM

RESULTS OUT: CNLU & NLS will book the tickets for Florida,USA.

The Finals will begin shortly & will see CNLU face-off NLSIU.

One of the CNLU team members got so overwhelmed that tears came out! We wish both the teams Best of Luck for the Upcoming Finals.

1:22 PM

The Finals begin in about 10 minutes from now.

The Chief Justice of Orissa High Court has arrived in the Hall. He'll be presiding over the proceedings. Look forward to an exciting finals!

1:38 PM

FINALS LIVE :

Vagisha Pragya (CNLU) begins her speech marking the start of the final showdown between CNLU & NLS. While both the teams are going to go whistling all the way to Florida, winning the Finals is a matter of pride and will doubtlessly increase the confidence of the winning team for the International Rounds.

1:48 PM

She relayed the facts and highlighted her main contentions. As of now she is presenting her submissions. The bench is preferring to listen rather than ask questions for now.

1:55 PM

Pollution becomes a bone of contention as the Judges ask the agent to elaborate on certain sections of the Record.

2:05 PM

Judges are patiently listening as extra five minutes are granted to the agent to complete her submissions. Her speech is replete with authorities and her hold on the facts of the case has even the Judges impressed.

2:10 PM

Vibhanshu Srivastava, the second speaker for CNLU, takes the floor. He has earlier won the BCI Moot Court Competition. Begins on an impressive note.

ENVIROTIP#4 Plant atleast one tree. You will have destroyed about a thousand during your lifetime.

2:28 PM

Vibhanshu shows exemplary legal skills by peppering his arguments with humor, law and facts in the right proportions. Few questions asked by Judges. A trend that can be gauged here is that they are preferring to listen out to the arguments prepared by the teams and interrupting only if there is a major flaw in it.

NLSIU's Molshree starts with her contentions.

2:50 PM

Molshree's speech is well-structured and intentionally kept simple. She has moved on to her third submission and the Judges, more or less, seem satisfied.

ENVIROTIP#5 Wear a mask and a cape. Develop high-end gadgets. Develop personal problems and then go around the city nabbing enviro-culprits.

2:56 PM

Interesting incident takes place. Molshree finishes her speech and the second speaker takes her place on the podium. But suddenly something in the written memorandum catches the eye of the Judge & he calls Molshree back to substantiate on it.

3:00 PM

Naintara, the second speaker for NLSIU takes the podium and begins her speech. Molshree answered the question to the bench's satisfaction.

3:14 PM

A couple of questions posed by the bench on general principles of international law were properly answered by Naintara. So far, her speech has attacked her opponents on the stand taken by them while at the same time underlining the submissions made by NLSIU's first speaker. Overall, her arguments have been convincing and emphatic.

 

 

 

 

3:21 PM

The CNLU team starts with the rebuttals and fires salvo at the submissions of NLSIU, stating bluntly that the latter team has misrepresented facts and misunderstood the treaties.

A flurry of activity in the NLS bench. Everybody's charged up as the Finals draw towards the end.

ENVIROTIP#6 Conserve Electricity. Otherwise the Grids will get angry and start capturing people to draw electricity from their bodies (Matrix anyone?)

3:25 PM

Judges spring into action and grill CNLU's Vagisha on points argued by her.

NLSIU rejects all accusations made by CNLU and clears the air on the point of argument. It establishes the prevalent law, as set by precedents, in its rebuttals and ends the speech underlining their submissions.

3:30 PM

The Finals of the 17th Stetson International Environmental Moot Court Competition South India Rounds finally come to a conclusion. The teams shook hands with each other and with the Judges. All in all, it was a hotly contested round with both the teams trying their level best to win the coveted title of being the Stetson South India winners.

3:50 PM

The Valediction Ceremony begins shortly and the results of the finals are awaited by one and all.

5:00 PM

The Final Comprehensive Details of the Competition are finally here!!

Winning Team is NLSIU Bangalore comprising of Molshree Shrivastava, Nayanatara B. G. & Anita Srinivasan (A wonderful Job indeed!)

CNLU Team comprising of Vagisha Pragya, Vibhanshu Srivastava, Jayanti Bhasker & Abhinav Tripathi are the Runner-ups (Gave a brilliant fight!)

V. M. Salgaoncar Goa & ILS Pune take the third and fourth places respectively.

Molshree from NLSIU takes home the title of the ‘Best Speaker of the Finals’.

Aneesh S. becomes the ‘Best Student Advocate

Kolluri Preeti, Basil Ajith & Vibhanshu Srivastava are adjudged the second, third and fourth Best Student Advocates.

NUALS, Kochi wins the ‘Best Memorial’ award while NLS, VMS & CNLU win the second, third & fourth best memorial awards.

The team from NALSAR wins the ‘The Spirit of Surana’ Award.

CNLU & NLS will represent India in the International Rounds of Stetson IEMCC 2012-13 to be held in Florida, USA.

The final results in a tabulated form,

WINNING TEAM

NLSIU BANGALORE

BEST SPEAKER OF THE FINALS

MOLSHREE SHRIVASTAVA (NLSIU)

BEST STUDENT ADVOCATE

ANEESH S. (KLA)

BEST MEMORIAL

NUALS KOCHI

SPIRIT OF SURANA

NALSAR HYDERABAD

5:30 PM
This brings us to the end of the competition and consequently the end of this live blog as well. It's been two days of intense mooting on the part of the participants and what's equally worth mentioning is the hard work & sweat put in by the students of NLUO in organising this Competition.
5:35 PM
& finally the moment which every blogger hates. Till next time.
~Cheerio
P.S.- There'll be certain updates on the facebook page (especially pics) most probably by tomorrow. Here's the link again
http://www.facebook.com/StetsonNluo
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