GNLU wins 3rd edition of the International Maritime Arbitration Moot 2016

GNLU emerged victorious in the 3rd edition of the International Maritime Arbitration Moot 2016 by NLU Orissa which was held from 1st -3 rd April, 2016  and saw 18 teams compete from across the nation.

The moot was started in the year 2014, with a goal to enhance research and advocacy skills of students in the area of Maritime Law and International Commercial Arbitration. This year the moot proposition dealt with controversial issues surrounding Indian parties contracting out to be governed by foreign law in arbitration and other pertinent charter party disputes.

The inauguration ceremony was graced by the presence of Prof. (Dr.) Srikrishna Deva Rao, Vice Chancellor, NLUO; Prof. Kesava Rao, Chairman Academic Coordination Committee, NLUO and Mr. Amrendra Ajit, faculty advisor to the Moot Society.

Prof. Kesava Rao welcomed the participants to the University and spoke with great vigour and wit about the benefits of mooting and advocacy. The format of the competition required the teams to compete in 2 preliminary rounds upon which the top 8 teams would further qualify for the Quarter-Finals.

The preliminary rounds as well as the quarter-finals were conducted on the 2nd of April, with Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala (RGNUL) being the highest ranked team at the end of the Preliminary Rounds. The judges invited to be part of the arbitration panel for the preliminary rounds were experts in maritime law and international commercial arbitration from reputed firms like Bose & Mitra & Co., Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co., Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas & Co., Trilegal, ALMT Legal and Kachwaha & Partners. The Semi-Finals saw NLSIU Bengaluru, ILS Law College Pune, HNLU Raipur and GNLU Gandhinagar argue before Mr. Dharmendra Rautray, Senior Associate at Kachhwa and Partners, Mr. Samreshwar Mohanty, Senior Advocate Odisha High Court and Mr. Animesh Sinha, Partner at Animesh Sinha and Partners.

The teams from GNLU beat NLSIU, while ILS Pune beat HNLU to advance to the Finals. On the panel of arbitrators for the final rounds were Hon’ble Mr. Justice D.P. Mohapatra, former Judge, Supreme Court of India, Prof. V. S. Mani, internationally renowned professor of Public International Law, Prof. Proshonto Mukherjee, Professor Emritus World Maritime University, Mr. Murali Neelkanthan, former senior partner at Khaitan & Co. and former Global General Counsel at CIPLA Ltd. and Mr. Amitava (Raja) Majumdar, Managing Partner, Bose & Mitra & Co.

After a round befitting to be called the Final round, GNLU were adjudged as the winners, while the Runners-up were ILS Law College, Pune. The Best oralist award was bagged by Ms. Jigyasa Sharma of RGNUL, Patiala and the citation of the Best Memorial was bagged by NLSIU, Bengaluru. The Competition came to an end with the Valedictory Ceremony where the members on the panel addressed the ‘mooters’ and encouraged them to continue their quest in the field of law through various activities including moot courts. The valedictory ceremony concluded with Mr. Adhish Rajvanshi, Convenor, The Moot Society, presenting the Moot Report and proposing the vote of thanks for the 3rd Edition of IMAM 2016.