NUJS Kolkata Hosts 6th Mediation Competition, 2024, NLU Jodhpur Emerge As Winners
The NUJS Mediation Competition is the flagship event of the ADR Society of the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, (WBNUJS), Kolkata. The competition since its inception in 2019 has attracted participation from esteemed universities both nationally and internationally, from countries like the United Kingdom, Bangladesh, Singapore and Australia, among others. Further, the competition has served as a qualifier for the renowned International Mediation Singapore, hosted by the Singapore International Mediation Institute and for the prestigious Transatlantic Negotiation Competition ('TANC'), hosted by the Syracuse University School of Law. Like its preceding editions, this year, the competition served as a qualifier for TANC, IIMC Colombo, and ADR-ODR Dubai.
The competition took place at the WBNUJS campus and saw participation of 24 competing teams. The problems for this year were based on contemporary aspects like intellectual property law, artificial intelligence and its regulation, to name a few. The problems for this year's competition were drafted by Mrs. Sangeeta Mehrotra, Mr. Todd Berger, Professor of Law and Director of Advocacy Programs, Syracuse University College of Law, Mr. Felipe Glioche, Lawyer and Private Mediator, Mr. Kandula Udawatta, Legal Apprentice, Sri Lanka Attroney General's Department and Mr. Atish Chakraborty, Academic Fellow, WBNUJS.
The competition comprised two preliminary rounds followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals. The rounds were assessed by Justice Sanjib Banerjee, Former Chief Justice of the High Court of Meghalaya, Justice Tirthankar Ghosh, Judge, High Court at Calcutta, Jishnu Choudhury, Advocate, High Court at Calcutta, Nisshant Laroia, Founder and CEO of PACT, Ayesha Jamal, Civil/Commercial Mediator at ADR ODR International and Mrs Sampa Karmakar Singh, Faculty Advisor, NUJS ADR Society amongst others.
NLU Jodhpur emerged as the winner in both the Mediation and Negotiation segments, with NALSAR, Hyderabad, securing the runner-up position for mediation and NLU Odisha as the 2nd runner-up. In the Negotiation segment, NLSIU, Bangalore, and Symbiosis Law School, Pune, claimed the runner-up and second runner-up spots, respectively. Additional awards were presented to SLS, Pune, for the best negotiating pair and best team in the preliminary rounds of negotiation, NLU Delhi for exemplary teamwork in negotiation, MNLU Nagpur for outstanding mediation, and Sri Lanka Law College for the best opening statement in mediation.
The competition not only provided a platform for students to hone their skills in conducting mediation proceedings but also fostered camaraderie and healthy competition among participating institutions.
With collaborations with top-tier law firms and chambers in India, along with luminaries in the legal profession, this year's competition offered significant prizes and coveted internship opportunities. The principal sponsors included The Circle of Counsels, New Delhi, and the State Bank of India followed by Equi Law Partners and Argus Partners who served as award partners and IAMC, PACT, and SCC Online as knowledge partners while TANC, IIMC, and ADR-ODR International also supported the event. Prof. (Dr.) Nirmal Kanti Chakrabarti, Vice Chancellor, WBNUJS, Mr. Raja Chakraborty, Registrar, WBNUJS and Prof. (Dr.) Pinaki Ghosh, IP Chair Professor, WBNUJS extended generous support at various stages of the event in making it a success.