This article is written by Akshay Kumar Singh. In this article, Akshay discusses top 10 corporate law moots in India.

Introduction

Mooting is an oral representation of a legal problem against a fellow counsel before a judge. It is an integral part of becoming a lawyer. For a law student, mooting is critical as it gives the student first-hand court experience and court etiquettes. The idea behind moot is to provide first-hand exposure to a student while he’s still in college. It also helps you build your public speaking skills and also enhance your research skills. It gives you the right mindset to understand details of a court proceeding, and how different aspects of a court proceeding function.

Corporate Law Moots in India

NUJS Herbert Smith National Corporate Law Moot Court Competition

• It recently held its 10th annual NUJS-HSF National Moot Court Competition 2018 (the Moot).
• It is one of the most sorts after competitions in India and sees participation from across India
• The competition is held in Kolkata
• The moot was won by students of Rajiv Gandhi National Law University of Law, Punjab.

How to Participate

The participation information is provided on their official website http://nujs.edu/nujs-students-activities-sja-mootcourts.html

Rules

• There are teams of three.
• The teams have to submit their memorial or plaint before the date of submission.
• Every team shall consist of two speakers and may have one researcher.
• The dress code is formal (Black pants, white shirt, and black coat)

Awards

As an award trophy is given to the best speaker, trophy and cash prize for the winning team, and cash prizes for runner-up team.

Surana & Surana National Corporate Law Moot

• For over 15 Years, every year, the firm has hosted, administered and sponsored over a dozen moot court competitions.
• Till date, close to 33,000 participants, Judges & other have participated and acknowledged moot court competition project.
• Recently they organized 16th Surana & Surana National Corporate Law Moot Court Competition, 2018.
• They usually conduct the competition at the beginning of the year
• Institute of Law, Nirma University, was the winner in their last competition

How to Participate

Registrations are done online on their official website

Rules

• Students of LL.B three year or five-year course are eligible for the competition.
• Each team should consist of a minimum of 2 and the maximum of 3 members and the minimum and the maximum number of members cannot be modified under any circumstances.
• There will be two preliminary rounds of arguments, an octa-final, a quarterfinal, a semi-final and a final round.

Awards

Cash Prizes for winner and 1st runner-up and participation certificate for rest.

Amity Moot Court Competition

• Amity Moot Court competition, one of the largest moot completion in India. It has been conducted for over 17 years now. The competition grows with each event and has a lot of popularity among law students.
• The competition is conducted every year in the month of March-April.
• The competition sees participation from all over India, over the legal problem given in the competition every year.
• Symbiosis Law School, Pune won the last year’s competition, however, the best research award was given to a student from NLU Odisha. 

How to Participate

The University gives out an official invitation to most of the leading legal portals and also legal forums. Interested students can also keep a tab on its official website for competition details.

Rules

• Teams of three (two speakers and one researcher).
• The teams have to submit their plaint before the date of submission.
• Only LL.B students can participate. No LL.M student can participate.
• There is also a registration which changes every year.

Awards

• There are Rolling Trophy and a cash prize for the Winning team and Runner-Up team.
• There is a Trophy/ Award for the Best Memorial.
• There is a Trophy/ Award for the Best Speaker
• There is participation certificate for all participants

NALSAR Justice Bodh Raj Sawhney Moot Court Competition

• This is an annual competition which is over a decade old now. The competition had its 11th edition in the year 2017.
• The competition two levels (a) Memorial Elimination Round, and (b) National Rounds.
• The teams which qualify the Memorial Elimination Round shall be allowed to participate in the National Rounds, which is comprised of Preliminary Rounds and Advanced Rounds Viz. Quarter Finals, and Finals.
• The competition receives participation from all over India, NLUs, and other private universities.

How to participate

The university gives a formal invitation, where one can register by applying on their official website https://www.nalsar.ac.in/about-nalsar

Rules

• Only LL.B students are eligible for the competition
• Each team shall consist of a minimum of two members and a maximum of three members.
• Every team shall consist of two speakers and may have only one researcher.
• A researcher shall be allowed to argue instead of a speaker only with the permission of the Court.

Awards

• Cash prize and trophy for the winning team.
• Cash awards for best oralist, runner-up oralist

KLA Moot Court Competition, Kerala

• The KLA Moot Court Competition, Kerala, had their 28th annual competition in 2017, in the month of February
• It has a huge participation footfall of over 45 universities/colleges/schools across India.
• The competition is held in Kerala and a great prominence in the academic community.

How to Participate

Participants are invited via email to their mooting society. When the registration is done, there is a participation fee, which has to be paid in the form of demand draft.

Rules

• Only LL.B students are eligible for the competition
• Each team shall consist of a minimum of two members and a maximum of three members.
• Every team shall consist of two speakers and may have only one researcher.

Awards

• Best Team
• Second Best Team
• Best Student Advocate
• Second Best Student Advocate
• Best Lady Advocate
• Best Memorial

All the participants will be awarded certificates of participation.

Fiat Justitia National Moot Court Competition

• The competition is over half a decade old now and has gained popularity among law colleges as one of the key competition.
• The first competition was held back in 2010. The event saw a participation of over 21 law colleges across India.
• The competition is held in Chennai and it is mostly held in the first 3 months of the year.

How to participate

Participation details are shared by the mooting society along with the invitation.

Rules

• Students pursuing three or five-year courses of the LL.B. degree in the academic year
• The participating team shall comprise of a minimum of two members and maximum of three members.
• The official language of the competition shall be English

Awards

Prizes are given for the Best Team, Second Best Team, Best Speaker, Second Best Speaker, Best Memorial and the Second Best Memorial.

NFCG-Nalsar Moot Court Competition on Corporate Governance

• The competition is held in Hyderabad

• The competition first started in 2011 and it had its 6th competition last year.
• Students from various colleges across India can participate with enthusiasm and look forward to this competition.
• The competition is usually held during the middle of the year.

How to participate

The registration procedure is online, where the teams have to send their plain before the date of submission.

Rules

• The Competition shall be conducted in the English language only.
• Each team shall consist of a minimum of two members and a maximum of three members.
• A researcher shall be allowed to argue instead of a speaker only with the permission of the Court.

Awards

• Winning Team Award
  • The winning team receives a trophy and a cash prize.
• Runner-Up Team Award
  • The runners-up team receives a trophy and a cash prize
• Best Oralist receive
  • a trophy, and
  • a cash prize
• Second Best Oralist receives
  • a trophy, and
  • a cash prize

All India Corporate Law Moot Court Competition, NLU Delhi

• The competition is one of the most prestigious competitions, as it is conducted by NLU Delhi which is directly under the purview of High Court Judges.
• The University has successfully organized several moots in the past, including South-Asia Rounds Oxford Price Media Law Moot Court Competition, India Rounds of ICC Trial Moot Court Competition, Vis Pre-Moot.
• The competition is conducted at the NLU Delhi campus itself.

How to participate

The details regarding participation can be found in their official brochure.

Rules

• Participating teams have to submit four (4) sets of hard copies for each side of the memorials.
• All students enrolled in a 3 year LL.B programme or a 5 year integrated LL.B are eligible to participate
• The team composition shall be as follows: 2 Speakers & 1 Researcher
• Teams are not permitted to receive any assistance towards the preparation of memorials or arguments from any third parties, including teachers, alumni, students etc. Any team found getting assistance from third parties shall be immediately disqualified.

Awards

• Trophy and cash prize for winning team and best memorial
• Cash prize for best speaker

ULC Bangalore All India Moot Court Competition

• The competition is held in Bengaluru and the competition is over a decade old now.
• The ULC mooting society is very active and has the mooting competition is considered one of the best in India.
• The competition is usually conducted in the first three months of a year.
• The competition receives a huge number of participants from all over India.

How to Participate

The competition is held annually and the registration process is usually done online. The society gives out a brochure which has the registration details

Rules

• One team comprising of a minimum of two members and not more than three members, per institution, shall be eligible to participate in the Competition, subject to completion of Registration formalities.
• Each team should prepare one Memorial for each side, that is, the Petitioner and the Respondent(s).
• Any additional member of any Participating Team shall not be entitled to hospitality or for any award. Such member or observer shall not be allowed to watch any of the rounds of the competition.

Awards

• Winning Team
• Runners-up Team.
• Best Memorial
• Best Researcher

School of Law, Christ University National Moot Court Competition

• The competition is had its 8th annual competition in 2017, where it saw a participation of over 20 universities.
• The competition was held in Bengaluru in the month of September 2017.
• National University of Study and Research in Law (NUSRL), Ranchi, the team was the winner in the last competition held

How to participate

The registration is done through a registration form which has to be sent along with the registration fee.

Rules

• The participants should currently be pursuing their Bachelor’s degree in Law i.e. three year or five-year courses.
• Each team shall comprise of three members only, two speakers and one researcher.
• The official language of the Competition is English. All competition rounds including the written submissions (memorials) will be in English

Awards

• Best Team
• 2nd Best Team
• Best Speaker
• Best Memorial

Do you want to be a champion mooter?

It takes preparation, hard work, determination. However, more than anything, it takes guidance and resources to do well in mooting.

You need to work hard and in the right direction. It makes a huge difference if you have someone along the way to point you in the right direction.

Mooting is incredibly competitive, and you have no opportunity to make mistakes and learn. If you make mistakes, it is costly, you lose competitions or don’t make it to the next round.

Given this situation, what is critical is that you prepare to your best ability when you appear in a moot court or even submit the memo to shortlisting.

How do you prepare?

• Till date, the best way to learn is to get guidance from champion mooters. They already know what it takes to win.
• You can ask them for a practice session, go for a mock session before them and ask for feedback.
• You can ask a memo champion to go through the memo and give you feedback. That is a sure shot way to up your game.
• Check Mooting School, world’s first online course that will help you to learn mooting rapidly and become a champion Mooter.

Conclusion

The above list is in no particular order or ranking. The list is purely based on the research and knowledge of the author. In no ways, does the above list undermine any competition or promote any competition in any manner. Such moot competitions are critical and important to the overall growth of a law student. This is as much a part of main curricular as it is an extracurricular activity. A law student should try to participate in as many such competitions as possible, and the college/university should also encourage such competitions and student’s participation in such competition.