Rules

GENERAL TERMS:

“Organizers” means the Moot Court Committee and members of Organizing Committee for the National Moot Court Competition.

“Participating Team” means the team, which has registered itself for the competition.

“Participants” means the speakers and the researcher of the Participating Team.

All the rules are only inclusive and not exhaustive for the competition.
Rules should be strictly adhered to. Any deviation there from would attract disqualification or other penalties mentioned subsequently.
All decisions by the Organizers in case of any disputes/ doubts etc. will be final.
Imposition of penalties including disqualification rests solely with the Organizers in case of failure to comply with the rule(s) and deadline(s).

DRESS CODE:

Male participants are required to wear a full suit comprising of black formal blazer and trousers, full-sleeved shirts, black tie and formal footwear.
Female participants are required to wear Western or Indian formals with appropriate formal footwear.

LANGUAGE:

The official working language of the Competition shall be English.

ELIGIBILITY:

Undergraduate students pursuing three- or five-year courses of LL.B. degree from any Law School/College/University recognized by the Bar Council of India.

TEAM COMPOSITION:

One team, comprising of a minimum of two (2) and not more than three (3) members, per institution, shall be eligible to participate in the Competition, subject to completion of Registration formalities.
Each team shall be composed either of two (2) speakers only or of two speakers and one (1) researcher.
Each team should prepare one Memorial for each side, that is, the Petitioner and the Respondent(s).

IDENTIFICATION OF PARTICIPATING TEAM:

Each team will have a team code and each participant shall be given an individual code.

Teams shall not disclose their identity or that of their institution or city, etc. except in registration form. Any such disclosure shall invite strict penalty, which may include disqualification. The decision for the same shall be at the sole discretion of the Organizing Committee.

REGISTRATION:

Teams must confirm their participation by sending a scanned copy of the Registration Form completely filled and duly signed by the Head of the Participating Institution along with valid institutional Identity Card’s to [email protected] by September 25^th, 2022.

The number of Participating Teams shall be restricted to 50. If the number of registered teams exceeds 50, the Participating Teams shall be shortlisted on the basis of the memorials submitted by them.

Every Participating Team will be allotted a team code which will be communicated in due time via email.

In case of any changes in the team composition, in terms of the members, the same must be officially conveyed to the Organizers at the time of the formal registration. Formal Registration of the Participating Team (s) shall take place on November 11^th, 2022 at the venue of inauguration. However, the change in the team composition shall be restricted within the members of the team, that is, speaker registering as the researcher and researcher registering as a speaker.

Please send the scanned copy of the dully filled with legible handwriting Registration Form along valid Identity Card of each participating member to make the valid registration at [email protected] on or before September 25^th, 2022.

REGISTRATION FEE:

The Registration Fee for the competition is INR 3,600/- (Rupees Three Thousand Six Hundred Only) which can be paid online at the official website: https://www.blcmoot.com/

ORAL ROUNDS:

There shall be two Preliminary Rounds, a quarter – final round, and a final round. Lots picked by the teams will decide the side of the arguments in Preliminary rounds.

Preliminary Rounds:

Each team will be given a total of 30 minutes to present their case. This time includes questioning by the judges. The division of time is left to the discretion of the team members, subject to a maximum of 18 minutes per speaker. Division of time should be informed to the Court Assistants/ Clerks at the beginning of the round. The oral arguments need to be confined to the issues presented in the memorials. Passing of notes to the speakers by the researcher during the rounds is allowed. A maximum of 5 minutes may be reserved for rebuttal or sur-rebuttal. Judges may at their discretion, extend the time allotted for the oral arguments up to a maximum of 10 minutes. In the Preliminary Rounds, each Team shall argue once as the Petitioner and once as a Respondent. All teams are expected to carry with themselves any case laws or authorities, which they intend to refer to.

There shall be two preliminary rounds wherein every Participating Team shall be required to argue once from each side.

Preliminary round(s) will be held on Saturday, November 12^th, 2022. Top eight teams will qualify for the Quarter- Finals at the end of the Preliminary Rounds.

The top eight teams shall be decided on the basis of the aggregate of oral score and the memorial score.

Scores in the researcher’s test will be used in order to resolve a tie.

The Quarter-Finals and the Finals will be held on Sunday November 13^th, 2022.

(Please Note that the Quarter – Finals may also be held on November 12^th, 2022 if time permits.)

The Quarter Final Rounds:

The highest ranked eight (8) teams from the Preliminary Rounds shall qualify for the Quarter Final Rounds. The first 8 teams will be selected on the basis of their oral scores in the Preliminary Rounds plus the scores in the memorials.

The fixtures for the Quarter Final Rounds shall be determined on the basis of draw of lots.

For the Quarter Final Rounds, each team shall argue only once against the team determined by and for the side decided by a draw of lots. The time for presenting the arguments shall be the same as the preliminary rounds i.e. 30 minutes.

A rank list will be prepared based on the scores or oral rounds. The the top two teams in the quarter final round will participate in the final round.

Final Round

The two (2) teams that proceed to the Final Round, as determined by the Rules above, shall each argue only once for the side allotted by a draw of lots.

The team, which wins in the Final Round shall be declared as the “Winning Team”. The other team shall be declared as the “Runners Up Team”.

In the Finals, each team will get a total of 45 minutes to present their case. The division of time is left to the discretion of the team members, subject to a maximum of 25 minutes per speaker. Division of time should be informed to the Court Assistants/ Clerks before the beginning of the rounds. The oral arguments need not be confined to the issues presented in the memorials. The side the Participating Teams will be arguing for will be decided by a draw of lots, with the Participating Teams picking the lots.

EVALUATION OF THE ORAL SUBMISSIONS:

Speaker marks, for the purposes of other Rounds of the Competition, shall be utilized as determined elsewhere in these Rules.

The evaluation would be done on the following criteria:

1	Marshaling of facts	15 Marks

2	Application of legal principles	15 Marks

3	Logical structuring and reasoning	10 Marks

4	Ingenuity and originality	10 Marks

5	Articulation of issues	10 Marks

6	Presentation skills and communication ability	10 Marks
7	Response to questions posed	10 Marks

8	Use of authorities and precedents	10 Marks

9	Court etiquettes	10 Marks

RESEARCHER’S TEST:

A written test will be conducted to decide the “Best Researcher” on November 12^th, 2022. Questions for such researcher’s test will be framed based upon the factual circumstances of the Moot Proposition and the principles applicable thereto. This researcher’s test is open only for the designated researchers of the Participating Teams.

In the event where there are only two (2) members in a team, either one of them may appear for the researcher’s test. The test shall be for duration of 30 minutes. (In case of a tie, the score of the memorials will be considered to decide the “Best Researcher”).

MEMORIALS:

The Memorials shall necessarily consist of the following and only the following sections:

Cover Page

Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations

Index of Authorities

Statement of Jurisdiction

Statement of Facts

Issues for Consideration

Summary of Arguments

Written Submissions

Prayer

A team code shall be assigned to each of the Participating Teams at the culmination of Registration formalities. Names of the participants or of the Participating Institution/College/University being represented ought not to be mentioned anywhere in the Memorial. Any other mark, character or text that reveals the identity of the Participants or of the Participating Institution being represented would also be considered a violation of this rule. Violation of this Rule shall attract severe penalty at the sole discretion of the Organizers.

The hard copies of the Memorials must bear a cover page in conformity with the following scheme:

Petitioner: Blue

Respondent: Red

The electronic copy of each Memorial must reach the following e-mail address: [email protected] latest by 11:59 hours (IST) on November 01^st, 2022. Both Memorials must be attached in a single e-mail only. For every day of delay, there shall be a penalty of 2 Marks. However, no Memorials received after November 05^th, 2022 shall be considered.

Four (4) hard copies of the Memorial for each side of the Proposition must be submitted to the Organizers upon arrival for Registration for the Competition on November 11^th, 2022.

All Memorials submitted must strictly conform to the following general requirements. Non-conformity may attract negative marking in a manner as indicated below:

Memorials must only be printed on plain white A4 paper with black ink.
The font used must only be Times New Roman, Size 12 for the main text whereas it shall be 10 for the footnotes.
The Standard Indian Legal Citation Style of footnoting must be strictly followed as far as practicable. In any case, footnoting must be uniform throughout the Memorial.
Each page of the Memorial must have a margin of one inch on all sides. No text must be placed within this margin of the page, other than the page number.
The maximum number of pages in each Memorial should not exceed 35 including 20 maximum pages for Written Submissions/ Arguments Advanced.
Any form of legal argument or legal interpretation of the facts of the Proposition must be confined to the “Written Submissions” section of the Memorial.
The Index of Authorities must contain a list of all legal authorities cited in any section of the Memorial. The Index must contain the page number(s) of the Memorial where the authorities are so cited.
No amendments can be made to the Memorials after submission. Any distinction or difference between the soft and hard copies of the Memorials would attract a penalty, as determined by the Organizers.
The Participating Teams may submit a compendium at the time of commencement of oral rounds to the Court Assistants/ Clerk. The compendium shall in no way disclose the identity of the Participating Institution or of the Participants.

EVALUATION OF MEMORIALS:

Every Memorial will be marked on a total of 100 marks and the team memorial marks will be the average of the total of both sides. The following shall be the marking scheme:

1	Application and appreciation of facts	20 Marks

2	Identification, structuring and presentation of issues	20 Marks

3	Application of legal principles, authorities and precedents	20 Marks

4	Ingenuity and logical reasoning	20 Marks

5	Lucidity and writing skills	10 Marks

6	Proper footnoting and formatting	10 Marks

EXCHANGE OF MEMORIALS:

There shall be an exchange of memorials between the respective opposing teams, in accordance with the fixtures as determined by a draw of lots, prior to all the Rounds of the Competition.
The teams are prohibited from making any marks on the exchanged Memorials.
The teams are prohibited from making any copies of the exchanged Memorials.
At the conclusion of their respective Rounds, the teams are required to return the exchanged Memorials to the Court Assistants/ Clerk where the Round is conducted.

ACCOMMODATION AND FOOD:

Accommodation and food shall be provided by the Organizers from 04:00 PM on November 10^th, 2022 to 03:00 PM November 13^th, 2022.

TRANSPORTATION:

The participating teams will be received by the Organizers at their respective places of arrival, subject to the completion of the Registration formalities.
The travel plan of the participating team has to be intimated to the Organizers when the Organizers request for the same. The Organizers will fully assist the participating teams in obtaining transport to the place of accommodation provided by the Organizers. Any subsequent changes made to travel arrangements must be intimated to the Organizers forthwith.
The Organizers shall take responsibility to transport the participating teams from the place of accommodation to the venue of the competition.

CLARIFICATIONS:

Last date for requesting clarifications on the Moot Problem is September 29^th, 2022. Teams may submit their clarifications via email to [email protected].

The clarifications should be requested only through the form of email and will not be entertained by any other mode of communication. All the clarifications will be posted on the official website of the competition on September 30^th, 2022.

SCOUTING:

Scouting by the speakers, researcher or any other person affiliated with a team will lead to the immediate disqualification of such team.

Scouting shall be deemed to have happened if any person affiliated with a team is found:

Witnessing, hearing, observing, etc. the oral submissions in a Round, except where the Round is one in which the team to which he/she is affiliated is participating in.

ANONYMITY:

Participants/ Participating Teams shall not disclose their names and the identity of their respective institution/ college/ university at any time before the award ceremony. Each team shall be issued individual codes, at the time of the registration and the same shall be the sole source of identity of the respective teams throughout the competition.

Note: All Participants shall refrain from wearing, using or carrying in any form, any identifying items, such as badges, blazers, pins or any other identifying material(s) such as a books/ bags with a college/ university/ library logo or seal.

COPYRIGHT:

The copyright over the memorials submitted for participation in the competition is assigned by participants and shall vest completely and fully on the Organizers. The Participants shall certify in writing the originality of materials contained therein and shall be responsible for any claim or dispute arising out of the further use and exhibition of these materials. Further use and exhibition of these materials, electronically or otherwise, shall be the exclusive right of the Organizers and they shall not be responsible for any liability to any person for any loss caused by errors or omissions in the collection of information, or for the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained in these materials.