Amity Law School, Delhi (Affiliated to Guru Govind Singh Indraprastha University) in association with Surana & Surana is all set to host the 58th edition of India Rounds of Philip C. Jesssup International Moot Court Competition from Friday, 27th January 2017 to Sunday, 29th January 2107.

The teams battling out for this prestigious competition this year are-

1. The Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University- School of excellence in Law

2. Jindal Global Law School

3. ILS Law College

4. National Law University, Odisha

5. National Law Institute University, Bhopal

6. West Bengal National University of Judicial Sciences

7. Government Law College, Mumbai

8. National Law School of India University,Bangalore

9. Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala

10. Christ University, Bangalore

11. Nirma University of Science and Technology, Ahmedabad

12. Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur

13. Gujarat Nationa lLaw University, Gandhingar

14. SASTRA University of Law

15. UPES, Dehradun

16. Chanakya National Law University, Patna

17. USLLS, Guru Govind Singh Indraprastha University

18. National Law University, Jodhpur

19. Symbiosis Law School, Pune

20. IFIM Law College, Bangalore

21. Symbiosis Law School, Noida

22. Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology

23. Tamil Nadu National Law University

24. National Law University, Delhi

25. Glocal University, Saharanpur

26. Raffles University, Neemrana

27. NALSAR, Hyderabad

28. Amity Law School, Delhi

29. Bangalore Institute of Legal Studies

30. National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi

31. Kerala Law Academy, Thiruvananthapuram

32. Damodaran Sanjivayya National Law University, Visakhapatnam

 

The event shall officially begin on 27th January with the team registrations starting at 2:30 PM. Chairman of Law Commission of India and former Judge of Supreme Court Justice Dr. B. S. Chauhan; Mr. Narinder Singh, Chairman of International Law Commission, Genenva; Dr. Pinky Anand, Sr. Advocate and Additional Solicitor General of India; Dr. Vinod Surana, CEO and Partner, Surana & Surana International Attorneys; Dr. Ashok K. Chauhan, Founder President, Ritanand Baldev Education Foundation & President, Amity Law School, Delhi and Prof. (Dr.) Balvinder Shukla, Vice Chancellor, Amity University, Uttar Pradesh shall then grace us with there presence at 4 pm. The prelims will begin at 9:30 am on 28th January and top 8 teams shall proceed to the Quarter-Finals. The Semi-Finals and Finals shall be held on 29th. Finally, the event will culminate at valedictory ceremony where this year's winners of Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court Competition- India round shall be announced in presence of our esteemed guests.

We promise to keep you guys posted with the latest deets here starting from 2:30 pm on 27th. So, please stay tuned! You can follow us on our Facebook page here!

See you on 27th, folks!

The sponsors are the backbone of any event and on that note we would like to thank all our sponsors.

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Day 1- Registrations and Inaugtration.

Your blogger for today is Prafulla Pathak.

3:40 pm:

(Prafulla)

Hey Folks! So the registrations have begun and the inaugtation ceremony will be starting in a few minutes.

 

4:12 pm

The registered teams are filing into the auditorium.

 

5:00 pm

The inaugral ceremony has begun with the Army Band playing the National anthem. The student conveners Tarang Aggrawal and Ashita Alag are now delivering the introductory speech.

 5:15 pm

The college choir presents a beautiful rendition of Saraswati Vandana and our revered guests light the ceremonial lamp.

5: 20 pm

Esteemed guests are being presented Tulsi plant as the momento.

Director of Amity Law School, Delhi Dr. D. K. Bandopadhyaydeliveres his opening address. He welcomed all the guests and participants. He spoke about the most important thing being the participation and taking a smile back. He also thanked Surana & Surana International Attorneys for associating with Amity Law School, Delhi and providing an opportunity to organise this prestigious event.

5: 25 pm

Prof. (Dr.) Balvinder Shukla is addresses the gathering. She spoke about the importance of Moot Court Competitons and on a lighter note wished India wins Jessup this year.

5:30 pm

Dr. Vinod Surana, CEO and Partner of Surana & Surana delievers his address. He spoke about how Jessup isn't just an event to popularise the international law but it also develops bonds of friendship across the borders. He said that Jessup has always focused on the emerging trends in International Law so that the participants could learn how to deal with the emerging problems. He further added that mooting teaches us how to appericiate others and the arguments that are not in our favour. He wishesd all the participants the best.

5:47 pm

Dr. Pinky Annad, Sr. Advocate and Additional Solicitor General of India addressed the audience. She said it's an honor for her to be at such a prestigious event. Addressing the audience she said "more you learn and the more challenges you face, the more you'll grow". She added that all of us need to be the best citizens of our country and we need to pay back to our globe and our time what we have taken from it. She wished all the participants a happy mooting.

5: 55 pm

Mr. Narinder Singh, Chairman of Internationa Law Commission delievered his address. He spoke about the need to focus on the rising trends of International Law like Cultural Property and conservation of resources.

6:00 pm

Justice B. S. Chauhan, Chairman of the Law Commission of India adressed the audience. He said he always feels happy to be with students as he always wanted to be a teacher and whenever he gets an opportunity he doesn't miss it. He spoke about the importance of our culture in interpretation of common law. Addressing the audience he said India has always followed the spirit of 'Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam' - The world is one family and this is what Public International Law is based on. He wished participants the very best of luck and conveyed his best wishes to the organising team for a successful event.

6: 15 pm

Esteemed guests along with Ms. Lesly A. Benn, Executive Director ILSA launched the Vth Volume of ALSD Student Journal.

6: 30 pm

High Tea

6:45 pm

Draw of lots has been done to decide the matchups for the preliminary rounds and memorials have been exchanged between the opposing teams.

Live reporting begins with the commencement of first preliminary round tomorrow at 9:30 am. See you then!

 

Group photograph of the participating teams.

 

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28th January

Day 2- Preliminary Rounds

8:30 am

Good morning Fellas! (Not coz they're our sponsors) It's a foggy morning in Delhi and let's hope everybody is on time. Your blogger for today is Prafulla Pathak. Volunteers have started arriving. If running late was an excercise, some of them would have been physically fit.

9:00 am

Participants have arrived and started with their preperation for today and mock sessions. Here is the media team wishing the very best of luck to all the teams.

9:30 am

The Judges have arrived and  are done with their briefings, Preliminary rounds will begin soon.

 

10:00 am

Most of the Courtrooms are in thick with their arguments.

Courtroom 2-

The applicant has not moved an inch while submitting her arguments, not even a hint of nervousness.

10:30 am

Courtroom 6-

The Judges are not liking being interrupted by the applicants too much.

Courtroom 13-

The applicants' side just smiled for the photographer while their speaker argues.

Courtroom 6-

Volunteers sitting in the courtroom are more than the participants themselves.

Courtroom 9-

The applicants just asked the bench whether they're ready. Even the Judges like their enthusiasm.

On a lighter note whether participating in an international moot requires a mooter to use an alien accent?

Courtroom 1-

Speaker 1: It was a pleasure arguing before the bench.

Bench: It was pleasure being argued before.

10:55 am

Courtroom 14-

Speaker of the applicants smirks while the second speaker speaks.

Courtroom 9-

Courtmaster poses for the photograph, photographer clicks reporter's photo instead.

11:00 am

Courtroom 1-

Speaker for the applicants continues to make the 'concluding statement' several times. The bench interrupts and asks the next statement to actually be the concluding remark.

11:16

Courtroom 13-

J: People are dying because there's no water.

Respondent: Water is important for industries also.

J: When there are no humans then who'll work in the industries

11:30

Courtroom 12-

Respondent seems well versed with the case and is answering questions like a boss.

11:40 am

Courtroom 12-

Judges explaining the concept of rebuttals to the applicants.

First round of matchups is over in most of the courtrooms. Teams are waiting for their feedbacks.

12:32 pm

Second round of Preliminary matchups has begun in some of the courtrooms.

Courtroom 10-

Applicants are being asked about the facts of the cases they are reffering to and the proceedings are smooth.

Courtrom 3-

Applicant asks for the permission to proceed without the Mic. Persmission has been granted.

12:57 pm

Courtroom 12-

Applicants and respondents exchange a sarcastic smile.

Courtroom 3-

We also have an injured Courtmaster in the room. Appericiate her spirit.

1:10 pm

Courtroom 8-

Pages all over the floor. Index of authorities is running around.

Courtroom 10-

Respondent's speaker is trying really hard to put her point across. Judges too are listening to her patiently.

Courtroom 14-

Respondents have two suitcases and a bag of documents, looks like they have prepared very well for the competition. Everybody stares in awe.

1:33 pm

Courtroom 13-

Applicants' researcher looks like he didn't get enough sleep last night. Too many doctorines and cases cited. The Judges seem impressed.

2:31 pm

Courtroom 5-

Judges are literally taking the second respondent through his own memo.

 

All the courtrooms are almost over with the second round of preliminary matchups. Judges are now taking their time for feedbacks. 

2:45 pm

Break for Lunch. We'll be back with the third round of Preliminary matchups starting at 3:35 pm.

(Prafulla)

3:35 pm

Third round of matchups is underway in all the court rooms.

Courtroom 11-

The speaker of the applicants' is confidently making his submissions and the Judge asks hims to be clear in his references.

4:15 pm

Courtroom 11-

The first speaker of the applicants' is a great speaker and the Judges seem to be convinced with his arguments.

Courtroom 14-

Applicants are busy preparing rebuttals while the second respondent speaks. Respondents seem to have confidence in their speaker.

5:20 pm

3rd round of Matchups in some of the the courtrooms has ended and the Matchup of 4th round has begun in Courtroom No. 8.

5:43 pm

Courtroom 3-

Both the teams seem well prepared and it seems like they are well aware about their participation in such a prestigious competition.

All the Courtrooms have now started with the 4th round of matchups.

Courtroom 5-

Respondents' have started with their arguments. The speaker is presenting good arguments, they look well researched.

6:25 pm

Courtroom 7-

The speaker of the respondents presents his arguments with flare. The Judges ahve not interrupted him so far.

Courtroom 13-

The Judges listen to the speaker's arguments intently. They seem convicned and ask him to move on to the next submission.

Courtroom 10-

Applicant's speaker rebuts the arguments passionately. The Judges seem impressed as he is well versed with the compromis.

7:45 pm

We are done with the preliminary matchups and we'll be beginning with the Quarter Finals shortly, where the top 8 teams will battle it out for a spot in the Semi FInals.

8:30 pm

(Prafulla)

Hey folks! Thanks for bearing with us. The results have been announced and the teams that have made it to the Quarters are, in no particular order-

1. NLIU, Bhopal

2. NLU, Odisha

3. NLU, Jodhpur

4. NALSAR

5. WBNUJS

6. Symbiosis Law School, Pune

7. Amity Law School, Delhi (GGSIP University)

8. RGNUL, Patiala

8:45 pm

The matchups of the Quarter finals are in progress, we won't be able to get you the minute details as it's getting late now. We'll update you with the results.

11:06 pm

Hello friends! I know it's very late but the results have been announced just now and the teams that have stormed into the Semi-finals are, in no particular order-

1. NLIU, Bhopal

2. National Law University, Odisha

3. Symbiosis Law School, Pune

4. NALSAR

A hearty congratulations from the Media Committee to the teams!

The Semis are scheduled to begin at 10:30 am tomorrow. Live blog will resume accordingly.

We'll meet you tomorrow. Have a good night, folks!

28th January 2017

Day 3- Semi Finals, Finals and Valedictory Ceremony

Your bloggers for the day are Prafulla Pathak and Anushka Jain

9:40 am

(Prafulla)

Good morning folks! The preperations for the Semi Finals have begun. Semis are scheduled to begin at 10:30 am. We'll be updating you shortly.

10:39 am

Hey peeps! The matchups have begun. We are obliged to have Mr. Ashwani Kumar, Mr. Animesh Sinha and Ms. Lesley Benn as Judges in Courtroom 1 and Mr. Rsihab Sancheti, Mr. Ulises Espionosa and Ms. Aritra Roy as Judges in Courtroom 2.

NLU, Odisha is up against NLIU in Courtroom 1 and NALSAR against Symbiosis, Pune in Courtroom 2.

10:43 am

Cortroom 1-

Applicants have started with the arguments. The Judge is questioning extensively and the speaker is handling it well. A lot of precedents are being quoted.

11:00 am

Courtroom 2-

Applicants' speaker is arguing before a seemingly intrigued bench. Applicants' speaker begins with her first contention. She's now quoting Lauterpacht. Needless to say a question has made its way to her.

11:10 am

Courtroom 1-

Applicants' second speaker has started with his first contention. He is trying to establish the illegality of possesion of Ruby Sipar by the Respondents.

Courtroom 2-

Applicants' Speaker 2 almost reciting her definitions to the court. Smooth, confident and impressive. She is providing recent examples of Transfer of Property now. The Court is now engaged.

11:15 am

Courtroom 1- 

Speaker 2 of the applicants' has been answering all the questions put forth by the Judges. The Judges didn't seem convinced but it was handled pretty well by the Speaker, all facts on point. The Judges seem convinced now.

11:30 am

(Anushka)

Courtroom 2-

The Opponent Team is listening to the Applicants intently and preparing their arguments accordingly. They seem confident and ready.

12:05 pm

Courtroom 1-

Rebuttals have begun. The speaker seems crisp and precise and has effortlessly rebutted the the contentions while establishing his arguments.

12:30 pm

(Prafulla)

Matchups have ended in both the Courtrooms and the teams are waiting for their feedbacks. We'll announce the results soon.

1:00 pm

Hi Folks! We're back with the results. The teams going into the Finals are NLU, Odisha and Symbiosis Law School, Pune. Congratulations to both the teams and we wish them the best.

Finals are scheduled to begin at 2:00 pm. We'll be back with the live updates. Stay tuned!

2:00 pm

The Judges for the final rounds- Hon'ble Justice R. K. Agrawal Judge Supreme Court Of India, Dr. Sanoj Ranjan and Dr. Luther Rangreji have arrived.

 2:06 pm

The Finals have begun. NLU Odisha and Symbiosis, Pune up against each other. The courtroom is packed with students who will witness the best two teams all over the India, arguing before the esteemed bench. The first speaker of the Applicants approaches the dais and puts forth his arguments.

 2:15 pm

The audience is jam packed and there are no seats vacant. Surplus audience exits the room as they lose all the hopes to grab any. The reporter calls it a jinx.

2:28 pm

2nd Speaker of the Applicants is arguing now. She puts forth her submission regarding equitable share of each property. The speaker argues that right to peaceful assembly is not an absolute right but it is subject to legitimate restrictions.

2:30 pm

Judges switch to an asserting tone. They seem well prepared with the case. This is going to be tough for the speakers. Good luck to the teams!

2:35 pm

The applicants have concluded their arguments. 1st speaker of the respondents now approaches the dais. 

2:36 pm

1st Speaker of the Respondents has started with his submission. He is now explaining his line of arguments. 

2:40 pm

Trans boundary harm with respect to international water courses is being questioned upon. A few people have slipped out of the hall. The second speaker substantiates his arguments with well framed illustrations.

2: 53 pm

1st Speaker of the respondents explains how establishing buffer zones is an appropriate measure in the present compromise. The speaker sounds way too calm but it seems to be working in his favour as the Judges are being able to understand his submissions very well.

2:58 pm

Respondents' Speaker cites numerous precedents to establish how EIA works and further how their EIA is in consonace with the same. And with this he concludes his arguments.

3:02 pm

Judges are questioning respondents' logic. The 2nd speaker of the respondents has good oratory skills. The Judges are shooting questions at him and he is tackling them really well.

3:20 pm 

2nd Speaker of the respondents now moves to the next issue and is now arguing about temporary protection under International Law.

3:25 pm

The applicants' speaker now takes over the dais for rebuttals, again, just relevant pointers.

3:32 pm

We are finally done with the finals. The teams are now waiting for their feedbacks.

3:40 pm

We'll soon be back with the Valedictory ceremony and the results of Jessup, 2017- India rounds. Don't let the excitement subside. 

 

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Valedictory Ceremony

(Prafulla)

4:40 pm

The valedictory ceremony today will see the likes of Hon'ble Justce R. K. Agrawal, Judge Supreme Court; Sh. Lalit Bhasin, Honorary Director, Amity Law School, Delhi and Dr. Vinod Surana, CEO Surana & Surana.

4:45 pm

Dr. D. K. Bandopadhyay, Director Amity Law School, Delhi welcomes the guests by presenting them sacred Tulsi Plant.

4:50 pm

Dr. D. K. Bandopadhyay delievers his opening address. He expressed his gratitude to Surana & Surana and ILSA for giving ALSD an opportunity to organise this pretigious competition. He appericiated all the volunteers for their efforts in making this competition a great success. He wished all the participants the best for future endeavours.

4:45 pm

Sh. Lalit Bhasin, Honorary President, Amity Law School, Delhi addresses the gathering. Adding on to his address he said "A word of advice, don't give it." He said that the God has devised a time saving device called tomorrow but you should't depend on it. Law is a jealous profession, if you ignore it you'll be ignoring it to your peril.

5:00 pm

Admists the warm applause Hon'ble Justice R. K. Agrawal approaches the dais to deliever the valedictory address. He said it was his honour to judge this prestigious competition. Organsing an event especially of such magnitute requires immense hard work of faculty and students and he congratulated ALSD for successfully orgainsing the event. He wished the best of luck to all the participants.

5:11 pm

Esteemed guests released the new edititon of Amity Law Review and ALSD Newsletter.

5:15 pm

Dr. Vinod Surana, CEO of Surana and Surna delievers his address. He said that India has a very fine name in International Law Students association and Jessup. He added that no matter the rank of the qualifying teams is, you all start with a clean slate. 

5:20 pm

Participation certificates are being presented to all the participating teams but the wait for the results is getting to our nerves. *Deep breaths*

Results

So, finally the results are being announced. Ms. Lesley Benn, Executive Director, ILSA presents the following awards-

4th Best Memorial- RGNUL

3rd Best Memorial- NALSAR

The teams that have secured the 3rd and 4th rank respectively are NLIU, Bhopal and NALSAR.

5:35 pm

Ms. Lesley Benn, Executive Director, ILSA addresses the gathering.

5:39 pm

Sh. Lalit Bhasin presents the following awards-

4th Best Student Advocate- Aditya Ladda, NLU, Odisha

3rd Best Student Advocate- Anushka Arora, GGSIP University

2nd Best Student Advocate- Karan Gupta, NALSAR

Best Student Advocate- Akshaya Venkataraman, WBNUJS

5:44 pm

Hon'ble Justice R. K. Aggrawal presents the following awards-

2nd Best Memorial- Amity Law School, Delhi

Best Memorial- NLIU, Bhopal

Best speaker (Finals)- And it's a Tie! Snehapriya SLS, Pune and Aditya Laddha, NLU Odisha

And finally the winner of the 58th edition of Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court Competition- India Round 2017 is National Law University, Odisha.

Spirit of the Competition Award- NLIU Bhopal

All the four semi-finalists namely NLU, Odisha, Symbiosis Law School, Pune, NLIU, Bhopal and NALSAR will be representing India in Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court Competitions- World Rounds at Washington, D. C.

5:50 pm

Plaque of recognition is being presented to the Director of Amity Law School, Delhi by Ms. Lesley Benn, Executive Director, ILSA

5:55 pm

The after Moot Movie, a short movie containing the glimpses of Competition is being showcased.

6:08 pm

Dr. Ashutosh Hajela, Convener, 58th Edition of Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court Competition- India round delievers the vote of thanks and expressed his gratitude to the faculty, management, support staff and all the volunteers for putting up such a brilliant show. He applauded all the participants and wished them well for their future endeavours.

6:20 pm

HIgh Tea

 

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(Prafulla)

And so with this the 58th Edition of India Round of Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court Competition has come to an end. We really appericiate everyone who has been encouraging us and has helped us in one way or the other. Thanks for bearing with us. We hope all the Participants, Judges and Volunteers had a great Jessup experience.

Here is the Media Committee signing off!