MOOT COURT COMMITTEE

NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, JODHPUR

THE SUMMER INTRA -UNIVERSITY MOOT COURT COMPETITION, 2018

OFFICIAL RULES

Organised by:
Moot Court Committee
National Law University, Jodhpur
Email: intra.nlu@gmail.com
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Article 1: Object ........................................................................................................................... 4

Article 2: Participation.................................................................................................................. 4

Article 3: Withdrawal/Revocation of Consent and Consequence of Non-Participation ................ 4

Article 4: Submission of the Memorial.......................................................................................... 5

Article 4.1 Submission in Soft Copy ......................................................................................... 5

Article 4.2 Submission of Memorials in Hard Copy .................................................................. 5

Article 4.3 Completion of Submission of Memorials, Penalties and Deadlines.......................... 6

Article 5: Format of the Memorial ................................................................................................ 6

Article 6: Penalties: Memorial Format, Anonymity and Plagiarism................................................ 8

Article 7: Oral Rounds ............................................................................................................... 10

Article 7.1 Scheme of Oral Rounds ........................................................................................ 10

Article 7.2 Limit on Arguments .............................................................................................. 10

Article 7.3 Decorum during Oral Rounds............................................................................... 11

Article 8: Penalties: Oral Rounds................................................................................................ 11

Article 9: Ranking in the Competition ........................................................................................ 11

Article 9.1 Purpose of Ranks .................................................................................................. 11

Article 9.2 Method of Ranking ............................................................................................... 12

Article 9.3 Break-up of Marks ................................................................................................ 12

Article 10: Allocation of Moots .................................................................................................. 12

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 Article 10.1 Basis of Allocation of Moots ............................................................................... 12

Article 10.2 Procedure of Allocation of Moots ....................................................................... 12

Article 11: Conduct of teams post allocation of Moots ............................................................... 13

Article 11. 1 Role of a Researcher........................................................................................... 13

Article 11.2 Miscellaneous ...................................................................................................... 13

Article 12: Appointment of Coaches .......................................................................................... 14

Article 12.1: Procedure of Appointment of Coaches .............................................................. 14

Article 12.2: Functions of a Coach ......................................................................................... 14

Article 13: Coach-Peer Review Mechanism ................................................................................ 14

Article 13.1: Applicability of the Coach-Peer Review Mechanism........................................... 14

Article 13.2: Procedure for Submission of Complaint............................................................. 15

Article 13.3 Hearing of the Complaint.................................................................................... 15

Article 13.4 Powers of the Panel............................................................................................. 15

Article 14: External Evaluation................................................................................................... 15

Article 14: Residuary Power........................................................................................................ 15

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 RULES FOR THE SUMMER INTRA -UNIVERSITY MOOT COURT COMPETITION, 2018

Article 1: Object
The Summer Intra-University Moot Court Competition, 2018 (“Competition”) is being held to form
teams of speakers and researcher(s) to represent National Law University, Jodhpur [“University”] at
different Moot Court Competitions (“Moots”) [to be notified by the Moot Court Committee
(“Committee”)]. The Competition would involve the mandatory submission of written memorials
[see Articles 4 and 5] and optional oral rounds as per the role the participant has consented to [see
Article 7].

Article 2: Participation
Students from the second, third, fourth and fifth year of the undergraduate programme are eligible
to participate in the Competition. Students may opt to participate in the capacity of:

a) A Researcher; or

b) A Speaker.

Explanation I: A ‘Researcher’ is a participant who only submits written memorials on the Summer
Intra-University Moot Court Competition Proposition, 2018 (“Proposition”) released by the
Committee.

Explanation II: A ‘Speaker’ is a participant who submits written memorials on the Proposition as
well as presents oral arguments on the Proposition.

Article 3: Withdrawal/Revocation of Consent and Consequence of Non-Participation

Non-participation refers to students who give their consent to participate in the Competition but do
not, in fact, participate, or submit a “Dummy Memorial”. Action against non-participation shall be
taken by the Committee as per its discretion, and may include debarring the students from the
Winter Intra-University Moot Court Competition, 2019.

Explanation 1: Save for exceptional circumstances, once consent has been given, no withdrawal or
revocation of consent is possible after the deadline for submitting consent has passed.

Explanation 2: Unless the context otherwise requires, ‘participation’ would mean the submission of
memorials along with the presentation of the case in the oral rounds. A student who gives his/her

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consent to participate as a Speaker shall be disqualified from the Competition if he/she does not
appear for the oral rounds.

Article 4: Submission of the Memorial

Each participant must prepare a memorial on behalf of both sides in the Proposition, in accordance
with the instructions given below.

Article 4.1 Submission in Soft Copy

All participants, Speakers and Researchers, must send via e-mail one copy of memorials from both
sides to the Committee at intra.nlu@gmail.com no later than 1600 hours, Indian Standard Time
on August 10, 2018. The Committee shall only follow the time according to the clock in the Halls of
Learning. All parts of the memorial should be contained in a single document. The electronic copies
must be submitted in Microsoft Word for Windows 97-2003 Document format. In case multiple e-
mails are sent by the participant, the Committee shall consider the copy of the memorial sent last,
both for the purposes of evaluation and also for awarding the penalty for late submission (if any).

The participants are required to strictly adhere to the following format of naming the memorial file
and the subject of the e-mail.

a. The name of file must be “[Participant Code][A/R (‘A’ for Appellant(s)/Petitioner(s) and ‘R’
for Respondent(s)]”
Illustration: The file containing the Petitioner or Appellant memorial of a participant with
Participant Code 001 must be named “001A”.
b. The subject of the e-mail must be “Submission of Memorials-[Participant Code]”
Illustration: When Participant with Participant Code 001 submits his or her memorials via e-
mail, the subject must read “Submission of Memorials-001”

In case such procedures are not strictly followed, the participant may be awarded penalty and in
certain cases may be disqualified from the Competition.

Article 4.2 Submission of Memorials in Hard Copy

Each student participating as Speaker must also submit three (3) printed copies of the memorial
from both the sides and each student participating as Researcher must submit one (1) printed copy
of the memorial from both the sides, which is stapled, bound or otherwise held together
appropriately, to the student(s) nominated by the Committee no later than 1800 hours, Indian

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Standard Time on August 10, 2018. The Committee prefers and encourages participants to print
their memorials on both sides of the sheet; however, there is no penalty for submitting single-sided
memorials. Any inconsistency between the printed copy and the electronic copy of the memorial
would attract a penalty as mentioned hereinafter [see Article 6].

Article 4.3 Completion of Submission of Memorials, Penalties and Deadlines

Memorial submission for a participant is deemed to be complete only when both the electronic and
printed copies have been submitted.

Any delay in submitting the memorial would attract an initial penalty of 0.25 marks for every hour
till 2359 hours on August 10, 2018. Thereafter, 1 mark shall be penalized for every two (2) hours.
The penalties shall be imposed on late submission of both hardcopy and softcopy individually.

The memorials may be submitted, in electronic and printed form, till one (1) hour before the
notified time for the commencement of oral rounds. In case of a Researcher, the memorials may be
submitted till one (1) hour before the last scheduled oral round of the Competition. No memorials
shall be accepted after expiry of such time.

Provided that the penalty for delay is subject to change depending on the discretion of the
Committee.

Article 5: Format of the Memorial

Memorials shall be prepared on A4 sized paper with 1 inch margin on all four sides of the paper.
The font and size of document, including the text on the cover page, footnotes, headings and sub-
headings, and footer must be Times New Roman 12-point only. The document (except the
footnotes, which may be single-spaced) must be double-spaced. The entire document (except the
cover page and headings) must be justified.

The memorial must contain the following separate parts, and only the following parts, in the below
mentioned order:

a) Cover Page;
b) Table of Contents;
c) Index of Authorities; [should include the page nos. of the cited
authorities]

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 d) Statement of Facts; [maximum four hundred (400) words]
e) Statement of Jurisdiction;
f) Issues for Consideration;
g) Summary of Arguments; [maximum three hundred (300) words]
h) Arguments; and [four thousand five hundred (4000) words
(including footnotes)]
i) Prayer for Relief [maximum two hundred (200) words]

Each page of the memorial, except the Cover Page(s), should be numbered and justified. Page
numbers of the Table of Contents, Index of Authorities, Statement of Facts, Statement of
Jurisdiction, Issues for Consideration and Summary of Arguments should be in small Roman
Numerals (eg. ii, v, ix). Page numbers of the Arguments and Prayer should be in Hindu-Arabic
numerals (eg. 3, 8, 12), beginning at 1.

Each memorial should bear on its cover only the following information: (a) the code number; (b) the
name and place of the forum; (c) the cause title of the case (with appropriate representation of
parties); (d) jurisdiction of the forum; and (e) the title of the document (i.e., “Memorial for
Respondent(s)” or “Memorial for Appellant(s) and/or Petitioner(s)” or any other as applicable).

The code number allotted to the participant must be placed in the upper right-hand corner of the
Cover Page of the each memorial, followed by an “A” for Appellant(s)/Petitioner(s), or “R” for
Respondent(s) (For example, for code number 001, the identification of 001A or 001R would appear
at the upper right hand corner of the cover of the Appellant/Petitioner or Respondent memorials
respectively).

Footnotes should only cite the source or authority and should not contain any substantive argument
or text apart from what is required to cite the authority. Any substantive argument or text within a
footnote shall not be considered as a part of the memorial. Manupatra citations or case citations
provided by other online databases shall not be allowed. In the event that any acceptable citation of
the case is not available or the case is unreported, the name of the court, case number and date of
judgment/order may be provided in place of the citation.

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Article 6: Penalties: Memorial Format, Anonymity and Plagiarism

The scale of penalties for formatting errors, not maintaining anonymity and indulging in plagiarism
are given below. Please note that the table is merely indicative and not exhaustive.

Description of Penalty Range of Penalty

Incorrect naming of the memorial file submitted in Up to zero decimal two five (0.25) marks
soft copy

No/ incorrect code on cover page Up to zero decimal two five (0.25) marks

No/incorrect court name and place Up to zero decimal two five (0.25) marks each

Incorrect cause title Up to zero decimal two five (0.25) marks (non-
cumulative)

Parties not represented/ wrongly represented Up to zero decimal two five (0.25) marks (non-
cumulative)

No/ incorrect jurisdiction on the cover page Up to zero decimal two five (0.25) marks (non-
cumulative)

Absence of “Memorial on Behalf of…” on the cover Up to zero decimal two five (0.25) marks
page

No/ incorrect jurisdiction under Statement of Up to zero decimal two five (0.25) marks (non-
Jurisdiction cumulative)

Incorrect order of parts of the memorial/ missing Up to zero decimal two five (0.25) marks (cumulative
parts/ additional parts/ blank page in the memorial per head; non-cumulative for different errors)

Word limit exceeding in Statement of Facts (i.e. more Zero decimal two five (0.25) marks for every twenty;
than 400 words) up to 2 marks

Word limit exceeding in Summary of Arguments (i.e. Zero decimal two five (0.25) marks for every twenty;
more than 300 words) up to 2 marks

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Word limit exceeding in Arguments Advanced (i.e. Zero decimal seven five (0.75) marks for every
more than 4000 words) hundred words; up to 3 marks

Word limit exceeding in Prayer (i.e. more than 200 Zero decimal two five (0.25) marks for every twenty;
words) up to 2 marks

Incorrect font size or style in footnotes Up to zero decimal two five (0.25) marks for five or
less; up to zero decimal five (0.5) marks for more

Incorrect line spacing in footnotes Up to Zero decimal two five (0.25) marks for five or
less; up to zero decimal five (0.5) marks for more

Incorrect font size or style in footer Up to zero decimal two five (0.25) marks for five or
less; up to zero decimal five (0.5) marks for more

Incorrect line spacing in footer Up to zero decimal two five (0.25) marks

Incorrect font size or style Up to zero decimal two five (0.25) marks for five or
less; up to zero decimal five (0.5) marks for more

Incorrect line spacing Up to zero decimal two five (0.25) marks for five or
less; up to zero decimal five (0.5) marks for more

Memorial not justified Up to zero decimal two five (0.25) marks for five or
less; up to zero decimal five (0.5) marks for more

Incorrect or inconsistent footnotes Up to zero decimal two five (0.25) marks

(cumulative)

Incorrect page size Up to zero decimal two five (0.25) marks

Incorrect page margin Up to zero decimal two five (0.25) marks

Presence of page border Up to zero decimal two five (0.25) marks

Page number on the cover page Up to zero decimal two five (0.25) marks
(cumulative)

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Incorrect page numbering (no change between Up to zero decimal five (0.5) marks (cumulative per
Roman and Hindu Arabic)/ incorrect page head; non-cumulative for different errors)
numbering in the memorial

No/ incorrect page number in Table of Contents Up to zero decimal two five (0.25) marks

No page number in Index of Authorities Up to zero decimal two five (0.25) marks

Text in header or footer Up to zero decimal five (0.5) marks

Violation of rule against anonymity Up to two (2) marks

Failure to remove tracked changes, highlights or Up to zero decimal five (0.5 marks) (cumulative)
comments from the soft copy

Inconsistency between soft-copy and hard-copy Up to zero decimal two five (0.25) marks
submissions

Article 7: Oral Rounds

Article 7.1 Scheme of Oral Rounds

Participants who opt to participate as Speaker have to appear in oral rounds of arguments which
would be adjudicated by a bench of two (2) or more judges. The Competition shall consist of two
oral rounds, which will be held for the purpose of the allocation of moots. The first round will be
held on August 11, 2018 followed by the second round on August 12, 2018. Please note that there
are no qualifying rounds. All participants who consent to participate as Speakers will have to
participate in both the first and the second round. The Committee shall notify the schedule of the
oral rounds to the participants on their batch email ids. Each Speaker shall be given eight (8)
minutes to present his/her arguments before the bench.

Article 7.2 Limit on Arguments

7.2.1 A participant may argue only those arguments present in and rely only on those authorities
relied upon in the memorial submitted by him or her. However, other arguments may be made and
other authorities may be cited in the oral rounds in response to a question raised by a Judge.

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 Article 7.3 Decorum during Oral Rounds
7.3.1 Participants who opt to participate as Speaker must appear properly dressed for their oral
rounds. As far as possible, the rules governing the attire of advocates in the Supreme Court of India
must be followed.

7.3.2 Participants who opt to participate as Speaker must be present at the venue of their oral rounds
at least forty five (45) minutes prior to their scheduled round. The Committee reserves the right to
advance the scheduled oral rounds under exceptional circumstances. In the event that a participant is
not present in accordance with this provision, the Committee reserves the right to not allow the
participant to make oral arguments.

7.3.3 No participant must communicate with any of the Court Room Officers that assist the Court
in any of the oral rounds during the course of the Competition.

7.3.4 There must be no attempt to communicate with the judges of the oral rounds until after the
completion of the rounds of the Competition.

Article 8: Penalties: Oral Rounds

The scale of penalties for improper communication, scouting and use of electronic devices are given
below. Please note that the table is merely indicative and not exhaustive.

Improper communication Ten (10) marks; may also lead to an enhanced

penalty or disqualification from the Competition at
the discretion of the Committee.
Scouting Ten (10) marks; may also lead to an enhanced
penalty or disqualification from the Competition at
the discretion of the Committee.
Any electronic device taken by the participant in the Ten (10) marks
Court Hall

Article 9: Ranking in the Competition

Article 9.1 Purpose of Ranks

Based on the performance in the oral rounds and the memorials submitted, two separate rank lists
(Overall Rank List and the Researcher Rank List) shall be published for the allocation [see Article
10] of Moots.
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 Article 9.2 Method of Ranking
Researchers shall be selected on the basis of a list prepared taking into account only the memorial
marks obtained by the participants. The Speakers shall be ranked on the basis of a list prepared
taking into account both oral as well as memorial marks.

Article 9.3 Break-up of Marks

Memorials shall be evaluated out of fifty (50) marks and the scores of the oral rounds shall be out of
hundred (100) marks. The Overall Rank List shall be prepared out of a total score of one hundred
and fifty (150) marks taking the oral round constituent as hundred (100) marks and the written
memorial constituent as fifty (50) marks. The applicable penalties would be deducted from the
scores given by the respective judges and would be indicated in the final lists.

Article 10: Allocation of Moots

Article 10.1 Basis of Allocation of Moots

Moots shall be allocated on the basis of the ranks obtained therein [see Article 9]. The provisional
list of the Moots to be allotted shall be notified by the Committee after the announcement of the
results and before the allocation of the Moots.

Article 10.2 Procedure of Allocation of Moots

The allocation of moots shall be according to the following steps.

10.2.1 The Committee shall announce a Moot as open. The order in which Moots are ‘opened’ for
allocations is determined by the Committee.

10.2.2 The Moot is then offered to the Speaker with the highest overall rank, in order, until all
Speaker positions for the Moot are filled.

Illustration: Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition is the Moot that is opened for
allocation. It has two slots available for Speakers. One Speaker slot is first offered to the Participant
with Overall Rank 1. If such participant opts for the Moot, the second Speaker slot is then offered
to the Participant with Overall Rank 2. In the event participant with Overall Rank 1 does not opt for
the Moot, Participants with Overall Ranks 2 and 3 shall be offered the Speaker positions for the
Moot. This process shall continue until both Speaker positions on the Moot have been filled.

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10.2.3 Article 10.2.2 is applied mutatis mutandis to fill the position of Researcher on a Moot that is
‘opened’. For the purposes of allocating a Moot to a Researcher, the Researcher Rank is taken into
consideration instead of the Overall Rank.

10.2.4 A participant whose name features on both the Overall Rank List as well as the Researcher
Rank list shall have the option to exercise either one of his/her ranks.

10.2.5 Except under exceptional circumstances, the Committee shall ‘open’ a Moot only after the
previously ‘opened’ Moot has been completely allocated.

10.2.6 Once there has been an acceptance of all positions for a Moot, each member of the tentative
team shall be given a brief period of time to reconsider their decision and withdraw their
participation from the Moot. In the event no member withdraws their participation, the Moot is
‘frozen’. After a Moot has been ‘frozen’, no change in the composition of the team is permitted for
any reason. In the event one or more members withdraw their participation from the Moot, the
newly vacant position is sought to be filled by having recourse to Article 10.2.2 and Article 10.2.3.

10.2.7 This procedure shall continue until all Moots that are proposed to be allocated have been
allocated.

Provided each participant of the Competition shall not be allocated more than one Moot through this
allocation procedure.

Article 11: Conduct of teams post allocation of Moots

Article 11. 1 Role of a Researcher

Unless exceptional circumstances are evidenced to the Committee, every Researcher on a team must
accompany his/her team for the Moot that has been allocated to him/her. In the event a Researcher
fails to accompany his/her team, the Committee shall take action which may include, but is not
limited to, debarring such Researcher from future Intra-University Moot Court Competitions.

Article 11.2 Miscellaneous

11.2.1 All team members shall be governed by the Moot Court Committee Library Rules, Rules
Governing Usage of Moot Court Discussion Rooms, and other Rules that the Committee may enact
from time to time.

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11.2.2 The copyright of the memorials submitted for the purpose of the Competition shall lie with
the Committee.

Article 12: Appointment of Coaches

Article 12.1: Procedure of Appointment of Coaches

12.1.1 Teams formed through the Competition shall be allocated coach(es) to guide their
preparation for the Moots.

12.1.2 After the allocation of Moots to participants through the Competition, teams may send in
their choice of coach(es) to intra.nlu@gmail.com within the notified deadline, after obtaining the
consent of the coach(es).

12.1.3 A maximum of two (2) persons may be allocated as coach to each team, except under
exceptional circumstances.

12.1.4 The coaches shall be students from the fourth or fifth year undergraduate programme. In
exceptional circumstances, students from the third year undergraduate programme may be
appointed as coach.

12.1.5 In case the team is unable to find a coach, the Committee shall appoint either a coach or the
Board of Coaches to the team.

12.1.6 The Board of Coaches shall comprise members of the Committee from the fifth year
undergraduate programme.

Article 12.2: Functions of a Coach

The functions of a coach shall include, but need not be limited to, guiding in the understanding of
the subject matter, correction of drafts of memorials and judging practice oral rounds before the
Moot.

Article 13: Coach-Peer Review Mechanism

Article 13.1: Applicability of the Coach-Peer Review Mechanism

The Coach-Peer Review Mechanism may be availed in one the following events:

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  A team wishes to complain against its Coach(es); or

 A team member wishes to complain against its other team member(s); or

 The Coach(es) wishes to complain against the team or team member(s).

Article 13.2: Procedure for Submission of Complaint

13.2.1 A soft copy of the complaint shall be sent by the complainant to intra.nlu@gmail.com, and a
hard copy of the same shall be submitted to either of the Co-Convenors of the Committee.

13.2.2 The complaint shall list a detailed account of events and grievances, and shall include the
name and signature of the complainant.

Article 13.3 Hearing of the Complaint

13.3.1 A fair hearing shall be given to the team members and the coach(es) following the submission
of the complaint.

13.3.2 The panel for the hearing would comprise members of the Committee from the fifth year
undergraduate programme, excluding any member who may be involved in the complaint.

Article 13.4 Powers of the Panel

The panel may take action in such proceedings, which may include debarring the concerned
student(s) from the next Intra-University Moot Court Competition, revoking their right to
participate in the allocated Moot, and replacing the coach(es).

Article 14: External Evaluation

All teams formed after the allocation of Moots through the Summer Intra-University Moot Court
Competition, 2018 shall be subjected to external evaluation to determine the suitability of the team
to represent the University at a particular moot. The detailed rules regarding such evaluation shall be
notified soon.

Article 14: Residuary Power

The Chairperson of the Committee (“Administrator”) shall serve as final arbiter of implementation
and interpretation of these Rules. The Administrator may promulgate such other measures for the
orderly conduct of the Competition or to correct deficiencies in the Competition.

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