‘If The Appearing Lawyer Gives Good Assistance, The Quality Of The Judgment Increases’- Justice Sikri

Lloyd Law College along with Menon Institute of Legal Advocacy (MILAT) and South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation in Law (SAARCLAW) organized Second Prof. N.R. Madhava Menon SAARC Mooting Competition & Law Student Conference from 10th to 12th February 2017. Hon’ble Justice Arjan Sikri, Judge, Supreme Court of India was the Chief Guest and Hon’ble Justice K.T. Chitrasiri, Judge, Supreme Court of Sri Lanka was the Guest of Honour of the Valedictory Function.

Day 1 of the competition was marked by registration of the participants. Day 2 witnessed Preliminary Round I, II and Quarter Finals and Day 3 was reserved for Semi Final and Final Round. The competition named after the father of modern legal education in India, Prof. N.R. Madhava Menon, aspires to take his vision of excellence in the field of legal education and professional development across SAARC countries. Of the 12 teams, Bangladesh 1, Nepal 3, Sri Lanka 2 and India 5, 2 teams competed in the Final Round. And, a total of 25 paper presentations on the topic ‘Justice to the Indigenous People’ took place.

A team each from Nepal and India qualified for the finals. The Runners-up team was Kathmandu School of Law, Nepal and the Winner team was Sastra University, India. Prizes were also given for the Best Oralist Male and Best Oralist Female. The 3 best paper presenters were also awarded.

Justice Sikri in his Valedictory Address congratulated the students for being a part of such a competition. He said that mooting enhances advocating skills, infuses professional ethics, increases knowledge of law, incorporates drafting skills and teaches time management.’ He also added that many a time good oratory wins the case. He said he is happy to see the young lawyers joining judiciary services and appreciated them for their reading skills and competence to grow. Talking about skills to be learnt as mooters he said that ‘If the appearing lawyer gives good assistance, the quality of the judgment increases’.

K.T. Chitrasiri, Judge, Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, congratulated the organizers. He also mentioned about the indigenous people in Sri Lanka and the present conditions in his country.

The conference concluded with the following announcements: 2nd Best Memorial- Kathmandu School of Law; 1st Best Memorial- Gujarat National Law University; Best Oralist Male- Vadeendra Joshi (Symbiosis Law School, Pune); Best Oralist Female- Varsha Gulaya (Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi); and 3rd Best Paper- Yamina Rizvi (Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi); 2nd Best Paper- Tharika Hewage (University of Colombo); 1st Best Paper- Zoya Junaid (Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi)

"Mr. Lalit Bhasin, President, SILF declared the names of two Best Law Students of the Year, a Male and a Female to be awarded a fellowship of $50,000 to pursue LLM at Penn State University, School of Law, USA. The Best Law Student of the Year Award [Male] goes to Mr. Kiran M. (Sastra University, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu) and The Best Law Student of the Year Award [Female] goes to Ms. Ekakshra Mahajan (Symbiosis Law School, Pune)"

This article has been made possible because of financial support from Independent and Public-Spirited Media Foundation.