08 Feb 2018|Noida | F2 Auditorium
Amity Law School, Noida hosts Indian National Qualifying Rounds of The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition
Amity Law School (ALS), Noida, Amity University Uttar Pradeshjointly with International Law Students Association (ILSA) started Indian National Qualifying Rounds of 59thPhilip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition at Amity UniversityUttar Pradesh, Noida Campus.
ThePhilip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition is the oldest andlargest International Moot Competition in the world. A record-breaking 100countries are expected to participate in the finals scheduled in April,2018.The Competition provides a stellar opportunity to students aspiring to join advocacyas a profession to learn about court craft. TheIndian National Qualifying Rounds are the exclusive means by which Indian lawstudents qualify for the finals of the competition to be conducted inWashington DC.
Thisyear, 35 teams across India are competing in India National Roundsincluding National University of Study and Research in Law, Ranchi, The WestBengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata, National Academy forLegal Studies and Research, Hyderabad, National Law School of India University,Banglore, National Law Institute University, Bhopal Rajiv Gandhi NationalUniversity of Law, Punjab and others from February 08 to 11, 2018at Amity University. Four teams will be selected out of these to representIndia in the finals.
Welcomingthe distinguished guests, Dr. Ashok K Chauhan- Founder President, AmityGroup stated that Indian legal brains are the best and their prowess isproved worldwide. He called upon the participants to read the judgments passedby eminent Judges of the country to keep themselves abreast with the latesthappenings in the legal professional. Dr. Chauhan expressed his conviction thatIndian Team will win the finals of Philip C. JessupInternational Law Moot Court Competition and bring laurels to the country.
TheChief Guest, Hon’ble Justice Mr. Rajiv Shakdher, High Court of Delhistressed that Mooting is a great idea since it imbibes structured process ofthinking in the budding lawyers, nurtures social skills in them by providingthem with an opportunity to meet people from diverse cultures and ethnicitiesunder one roof in Moot Court and accommodate each other’s’ views. He remarkedthat the most important facet of mooting is that it actually trains studentsabout walking away with lost case since there is generally one winner at theend of every competition, thereby preparing them for the profession as well aslife. He opined that it is important for budding lawyers to understand thatthey may lose the case but they should never lose the court of the Judge; it isimportant never to get into an argument with a Judge since it takes years ofpractice to win the goodwill of a Judge. He stressed on the fact that thecompetition is training ground for profession and it is on participants to takeback maximum learning from the competition.
Highlightingthe importance of Jessup Moot, Dr. Pinky Anand- Sr.Advocate & Additional Solicitor General of Indiasaid that it is a matter of great repute to be associated with Jessup which isthe oldest and largest International Moot Court Competition. She stressed thatit is important for a lawyer, right from the beginning of his/her profession,to understand various stages of trial, appeal, presentations, oral argumentsand there is no other way hands on approach to learn all these at this phase oftheir lives than through mooting.
Talkingabout the recent election of Justice Dalveer Bhandari from India inInternational Court of Justice (ICJ) and the importance of being represented atglobal level, Ms. Anand said that it is for the first time that five Nationsare not been represented in ICJ and an Indian-Justice Dalveer Bhandari had 193votes from General Assembly, making UK representative- Christopher Greenwood towithdraw. Corroborating this fact further with the case of Kulbhushan Jadhavand the decision of 11-judge bench of the International Court of Justicestaying the execution of Jadhav by Pakistani Military Court until furthernotice, Ms. Anand stressed that the case demonstrated the strength that Indiacan have and the conviction that India will be able to increase its presence inglobal arena to ensure the rule of law and the global order.
Addressingthe participants of the Competition, Mr. Salman Khurshid, Sr. Advocate,Former Minister of Law & Justice advised them that while presenting acase to the Bench, listen to the Judges attentively and when they tell a lawyerto stop then he should put this arguments to rest. He stressed that Judgesprobably know more than the lawyers through past experience but they have atough job since despite knowing everything, they tell lawyers to explainthem law. If a lawyer is mistaken in believing otherwise, he loses the case. Heremarked that young lawyers, while keeping this fact in mind, should be able tonudge Judges at the right moment, in the right manner so that the Judges canthemselves think that a new thought has come out. In such a situation, even ifa lawyer will lose the case, he will be enormously appreciated by the Judge andthat’s the biggest gift one can get at the Bar. He advised the budding lawyersto engage in fundamental areas which have not been explored and understand howJudges could be different- one Judge may think very simply and straight basedon what is legal law and other may explore much wider and greater. He assertedthat if they are able to impress the Judges with their command of material andtheir ability to grow larger thoughts, then they have the makings of not just aprofound Lawyer but also, an outstanding Judge.
Alsopresent during the inauguration were Senior Advocate Prashant Kumar, PresidentElect of BAI, Convener, B.R.I.C.S. Legal Forum India, Prof.(Dr.) D.K. Bandyopadhyay, Chairman, Amity Law Schools, Prof.(Dr.) Shefali Raizada, Additional Director, ALS, Noida and Dr. Aditya Tomer,Additional Director, ALS, Noida.