Events

02 Mar 2014|Noida | Amity University Campus, Sector-125 Noida

Shri V.S Sampath- Chief Election Commissioner felicitates the team of National Law School of India University, Bangalore as winners of 13th Amity National Moot Court Competition

Three day National Moot Court Competition organized by Amity Law School, Delhi concluded today with the team from National Law School of India University, Bangalore declared as the winners of the Competition.

The moot problem for this year’s competition was based on concepts of Public International Law and highlighted the emerging legal landscape in the field of law of the seas, salvage rights and criminal jurisdiction over the seas. The proposition essentially centred on the disputes between two hypothetical countries over their maritime boundaries and drew strongly from the Italian Marines case.

The Competition which commenced on February 28 witnessed the participation of 23 Law Universities, Colleges and Institutes across India including Babasaheb Ambedkar College of Law, Nagpur, Faculty of Law, Allahabad University, Faculty of Law and others.

Shri V.S Sampath- Chief Election Commissioner, Shri Rakesh Khanna -Senior Advocate & Additional Solicitor General of India and Shri. Lalit Bhasin- Advocate, Supreme Court of India graced the Valediction and felicitated the winners of the Competition.

Welcoming the august gathering, Prof. (Dr.) B P S Sehgal - Director, Amity Law School, Delhi said that 13^th Amity National Moot Court Competition aimed at familiarizing budding lawyers with the actual court proceedings thereby honing their skills of formulating and presenting legal arguments before a panel of legal luminaries. It provided an enriching experience to participants as well as observers. He outlined the accomplishments of the budding lawyers of the Institute in various National and International Moot Court Competitions.

Addressing the gathering, Shri V.S Sampath- Chief Election Commissioner congratulated the winners and applauded the topical subject of the Competition.

Taking about the upcoming elections in India and the role of Election Commission of India (ECI), he said that conducting elections in India with over 81 crore voters is not an easy task. The total number of voters in India exceed the total number of voters in any one continent be it America, Europe or Africa. He stressed that the prime task of ECI is maintenance of electoral rolls and if any political party manages to meddle with the electoral rolls, it manages to manipulate the elections.  He narrated that during the last elections especially in metropolitan areas, there were cases of missing voters who although, had Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) but their names were missing in the voting list probably due to the inherent problems faced in maintenance of electoral rolls in metropolitan cities. He cautioned, “Don’t be under the impression that once your name is there in the voters list, it will be there forever, since ECI does annual revision of the electoral rolls which includes deletions and additions of voters and other important details.” He further shared that ECI has a provision for filling online application for registering as a voter which involves minimal formalities therefore, the first time voters and those who are re-enrolling can easily get their names into voters list.

He shared that when Parliamentary elections will be announced this year, ECI will give a unique opportunity to missing voters for registering themselves. The Booth Level Officers in 9 lakh polling stations will issue Form 6 (for enrolling in Voters List), which will be collected then and there and details will be checked by Booth Level Officers, thereby reducing the EPIC cases and maximizing the voters’ turnout.

He called upon the youth of the country to spread the message of higher enrollment and greater participations in voting for maintaining vibrant democracy in the country.

Sharing his views and motivating the participants, Shri Rakesh Khanna -Senior Advocate & Additional Solicitor General of India said that Moot Courts are excellent forums which give opportunity to budding lawyers to sharpen the skills required in Law profession. He remarked that winning or losing does not matter in moot Court Competitions; what matters is the participation and how well the students present and argue the case. “In law profession, besides class room teaching of law, interpretation of law and practical training in Chambers of lawyers and court rooms is very important. A good lawyer needs to know how to interact with a client and get the facts out of him, how to conduct research for the case, how to prepare a draft while taking into consideration the contentions of other side and queries that might come from court.” opined Additional Solicitor General of India.

Addressing the gathering, Shri. Lalit Bhasin- Advocate, Supreme Court of India called upon the budding lawyers to identify with the client, understand his emotions and be adept in using latest technology to ensure speedy and timely justice delivery. He stressed that lawyers are no more technical advisors now but they are suppose to discharge the client friendly role of a Guide, Mentor, Philosopher and a Counsel

Also, present during the occasion was Prof. M.K. Balachandran-Chair Professor for Law, Amity Law School, Delhi.

The semi-finals of the Moot Court were contested between four teams – GLC, Mumbai; Dr. Ambedkar Law University, Chennai; National Law School, Bangalore and Symbiosis Law School, Pune out of which Dr. Ambedkar Law University, Chennai and National Law School, Bangalore emerged as finalists.

Winning Team from National Law School of India University, Bangalore was given a Rolling Trophy along with the Cash Prize of Rs. 20, 000 and Runner-Up team from Dr. Ambedkar Law University, Chennai was felicitated with a Trophy along with the Cash Prize of Rs. 10, 000