VIVEKANANDA INSTITUTE OF PROFESSIONAL

STUDIES

2ND VIVEKANANDA INSTITUTE OF PROFESSIONAL

STUDIES INTERNATIONAL MOOT COURT
COMPETITION
7TH- 9TH NOVEMBER, 2014

Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies

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2nd International Moot Court Competition, 2014

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.

VIPS International Moot....3

2.

Official Schedule...4

3.

Rules and Regulations ...5

4.

Registration Form15

5.

Travel Plan...16

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VIPS INTERNATIONAL MOOT

A moot court is an extracurricular activity at many law schools in which participants take
part in simulated court proceedings, which usually involves drafting briefs (or memorials)
and participating in oral argument. The event particularly involves 2 phases wherein the first
phase the student research and the second where, they present the research orally in front of
the simulated courts and judges.

A domestic moot court competition tends to focus on municipal law i.e. domestic laws of the
nation, regional and international moot competitions tend to focus on subjects such as public
international law, international human rights law, international humanitarian law,
international trade law, international maritime law, and international commercial arbitration.

The Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies International Moot Court Competition is

the first of its kind event where in, teams from various premier institutions of India and
around the globe have been personally invited to participate. Institutions like Harvard, Yale,
Oxford, NUS, University Of Sydney etc. from across boundaries and University Of Delhi,
Indian Law Society's Law College, NLU's, Symbiosis Law School etc. from within the
country have been personally invited to be a part of this grand event to be held in the month
of November, 2014.

The moot court aims to make the participants research, deliberate and discuss upon a topic of
imminent international importance which not only broadens the scope of their horizon but
works as an endeavor to make students realize the happenings of the real world and how the
same are to be dealt.

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2nd VIVEKANANDA INSTITUTE OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES INTERNATIONAL

MOOT COURT COMPETITION, 2014

OFFICIAL SCHEDULE

Dates

Events
Release of Moot Problem.

7th July, 2014

Last date for Registration of Teams and Team

31st August, 2014

Details
Last day for allotment of codes for participating

2nd September, 2014

teams.
Last day to apply for Clarifications regarding

15th September, 2014

the Case (11:59 P.M. IST).

Last day for submitting the soft copy of the

15th October, 2014

Written Submission (11:59 P.M. IST).

Last day for submitting the hard copy of the

20th October, 2014

Written Submission (11:59 P.M. IST).

Draw of Lots for Preliminary Rounds and

28th October, 2014

Opponents Written Submissions to be mailed to

the participating teams.
2nd Vivekananda Institute of Professional

7th November 2014

Studies International Moot Court Competition,

2014 - Inaugural Ceremony.

8th November 2014

Preliminary Rounds and Quarter-final Rounds.

9th November 2014

Semi-final Rounds and Final Round.

10th November 2014

Trip to Taj Mahal

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2nd VIVEKANANDA INSTITUTE OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES INTERNATIONAL

MOOT COURT COMPETITION, 2014

RULES AND REGULATIONS

1. Definitions
1.1. Administrator(s) means, any other person(s) appointed to administer the competition by
the Advocates Legion.
1.2. Advocates Legion means, Vivekananda Law School Moot Court Society (VLSMCS) of
Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies (VIPS, Delhi)
1.3. Competition means, the 2nd Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies International
Moot Court Competition, 2014 (hereinafter 2nd VIPS IMC 2014).
1.4. Competition Problem means, the official problem of the competition
supplemented or corrected by any official problem clarifications or corrections.

as

1.5. Judge means, any person appointed to evaluate a participants oral pleadings.
1.6. Written submission means, the written pleadings of each participating college, written
and submitted pursuant to these rules.
1.7. Problem Clarifications means, the official clarifications of the competition problem and
of these rules, as published by the Administrator(s).
1.8. Competition Rules means, these official rules of the competition and any
applicable supplementary rules.
1.9. Participants means, student representatives from eligible colleges recognized by the
Administrator(s) which compete in the competition, pursuant to Rule 3 and 4.

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2. Interpretation
The interpretation placed upon these Rules by the Administrator(s) shall be conclusive. The
decision of the Administrator(s) regarding the application of these Rules shall be final.
3. Participation And Eligibility
3.1. The Competition is open to all bonafide students, enrolled on a regular basis in an
undergraduate course or its equivalent conducted by any recognized
University/College/Institute.
3.2. Each team shall comprise of three members; two speakers and one researcher.
3.3. The members of the team must be designated as either Speaker or Researcher and such
designation shall be conveyed to the Administrator(s) at the time of registration. Only those
members designated as speakers will be permitted to put forth the oral arguments in the
Competition.
3.4. Once registered, a team will not be permitted to vary the composition of the team in any
manner. Changes, if any, may only be made with the express permission of the
Administrator(s) (at their discretion), if plausible reason is shown for the same.
3.5. Any additional member or team coach of any team shall not be recognized as a participant
and will not be entitled to a certificate from the Administrators.

4. Trip To Taj Mahal

The Advocates Legion shall be organizing a trip to Taj Mahal, Agra on 10th November, 2014.
Each Participant interested in visiting Taj Mahal shall have to pay 1000 INR, cash on 7 th
November, 2014 at the time of registration.
5. Registration
5.1 The date for teams to provisionally register their University/College/Institute for the
Competition is 15th July, 2014.
5.2 Registration will be opened till 31st August, 2014 (11:59 P.M. IST).
5.3 Registration Fees shall be 3500 INR.

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5.4

Soft copies of Registration Form and proof of payment of registration fees (i.e. Demand
Draft/ Online Transfer Transaction Number or Bank Account Transfer Receipt Number)
of 3500 INR shall be sent on internationalmoot@vips.edu by 31st August, 2014.

5.5

The Demand Draft shall be made in the name of Vivekananda Institute of

Professional Studies Law School.

5.6

Teams are required to fill all the sections of the Registration Form for participation in
the 2nd VIPS IMC 2014. The team registration form should reach via post to the
Administrator(s) no later than 31st August, 2014 11:59 P.M. IST. Registration Forms
received after this deadline will not be considered for participation in the competition. The
registration form shall be addressed to the following:
The President,
2nd VIPS IMC 2014
Advocates Legion
Vivekananda Law School
Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies,
AU Block,
Pitampura, New Delhi, India - 110034.
Phone: +91 (11) 27343401, 27343402, 27343403
Phone: Ms. Deepti Kohli (Faculty Convenor) : +91- 9899710439

5.7

Indian teams must make payment by Demand Draft. Payment by international teams
may be made by Bank Transfer.

receipt
of
the
team
Registration
Form
and
Fees,
the
5.8 Upon
registered team shall be assigned a Team Code, for the purpose of further
correspondence.
6. Accommodation, food and transport
6.1 Accommodation shall be provided to the teams for three days, i.e. from 7th 9th
November, 2014. It shall be extended to the members of the team (maximum three) only.
Teams shall be responsible for any/all damages caused by them during their stay.
6.2 Food shall be provided to all the teams only during the three days of the Competition.
6.3 Transportation shall be provided to the teams given accommodation.

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6.4 The teams from Delhi shall NOT be provided with accommodation or travel assistance.
7. Clarifications To The Case
Teams may request for clarifications via e-mail to internationalmoot@vips.edu, latest by
the 15th September, 2014 (11:59 P.M. IST). All clarifications shall be sent to the
Participants via e-mail.
8. Structure Of The Competition
8.1. The Competition rounds shall be held over a period of three days from November 7th 9th,
2014. The inaugural function and the orientation of Participants will be held on 7th
November, 2014.
8.2. The Competition shall consist of 4 Rounds:
[i.]
[ii.]
[iii.]
[iv.]

The Preliminary Rounds;

The Quarter Finals;
The Semi Finals; and
The Final.

8.3. Preliminary Rounds

[i.]

The preliminary rounds will be held on 8th November, 2014. In the preliminary
rounds, each team shall argue once as the Prosecution and once as the Defense. The
preliminary rounds shall be conducted in a single day. Each team shall argue from
both sides i.e. Prosecution and Defense.

[ii.]

The draw of lots for determining the opponent teams shall be conducted after the
expiration of registration date, i.e. on 28th October, 2014. It shall be the responsibility
of the Administrator(s) to conduct the draw of lots and to inform the teams via e-mail.

[iii.] All teams will be sent the opponent team's Written Submission for the preliminary
rounds on 28th October, 2014. No team shall be provided any information regarding
the identity of their opponent teams or any other team.
[iv.]

The quarter finalists shall be determined in the following manner:

(a.) At the end of the preliminary rounds, the top eight teams will qualify for the
quarter finals.

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(b.) The top 8 teams will be selected on the basis of number of rounds won (two
wins).
(c.) In case of a tie, the team with higher marks in memorial will proceed to the
Quarter Finals.
8.4. Quarter-Finals/Semi-Finals/Finals
[i.]

The quarter finals will take place on 8th November 2014 and the semi finals and finals
will be held on 9th November 2014. The Quarter-Finals/Semi-Finals/Finals will be
knock-out rounds. In case of a tie, the total oral marks of the teams in the previous
rounds shall be considered. The teams with the higher score will win.

[ii.]

The side, on which the team will argue, will be decided by a draw of lots.

[iii.]

The teams will be provided with a hard copy of their opponent's Written Submission
prior to the oral rounds. They are required to return the same after their rounds.

9. Written Submission
9.1. Each team is required to prepare a Written Submission for both, the Prosecution and the
Defense of the case.
9.2. All teams shall send a soft copy of the Written Submission for each side in Adobe PDF
format and Microsoft Word (.docx), via electronic mail, on or before 15th October, 2014
(11:59 P.M. IST) to internationalmoot@vips.edu
9.3. Any submission after 15th October, 2014 (11:59 P.M. IST) will be considered to be a one
day delay and shall be penalized with 3 marks.
9.4. Teams shall send 9 hard copies of the Written Submissions for each side (9 for the
Complainant and 9 for the Defense) by 20th October, 2014 (11:59 P.M. IST) to the
following address:
The President,
2nd VIPS IMC 2014
Advocates Legion
Vivekananda Law School
Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies,
AU Block,

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Pitampura, New Delhi, India - 110034.

Phone: +91 (11) 27343401, 27343402, 27343403
Phone: Ms. Deepti Kohli (Faculty Convenor): +91- 9899710439
9.5. The hard copies must be the exact print outs of the soft copy or else the team will be
disqualified from the Competition. The teams are required to carry hard copies of their
Written Submission for personal use, which are excluded from the copies already
submitted.
9.6. The Written submission shall consist of the following mandatory heads:
[i.]
[ii.]
[iii.]
[iv.]
[v.]
[vi.]
[vii.]
[viii.]
[ix.]

Cover Page
Table of Contents
List of Abbreviations
Index of Authorities
Statement of Facts (not exceeding 2 pages)
Statements of Issues
Summary of the Written submission (not exceeding 3 pages)
Legal Pleadings (not exceeding 25 pages)
Request for Findings (not exceeding 1 page)

9.7. The Written Submission should not exceed the maximum limit of 40 (forty) pages in
length, including the legal pleadings. The cover page of each Written Submission must
contain the Team Code in the upper right-hand corner.
9.8. Teams shall cite authorities in the Written Submission using footnotes following the
Bluebook Method of Citation (19th edition). The Written Submission (including the
preliminary pages) shall be typed on A4-sized paper, with the following mandatory
specifications:
[i.]
[ii.]
[iii.]
[iv.]

Font type: Times New Roman

Font size: 12
Line spacing: 1.5
Body of text: Justified

For Footnotes, the formatting specifications are:

[i.] Font type: Times New Roman
[ii.] Font size: 10

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[iii.] Single spacing

[iv.] Paragraph spacing: 0
[v.] No additional space between 2 footnotes
9.9. Each page (including the preliminary pages) should have a margin of 1 inch on each side.
The Written Submission shall not contain any annexure, photographs, graphs, diagrams
or any other representation of like nature. Footnotes should be limited to only citations or
any other information relevant to the arguments. Footnotes should not, in any case,
contain extra or irrelevant information or arguments.
9.10. Presentation of the Written Submission
[i.] The Written Submission shall be spiral bound only.
[ii.] The following color schemes shall be followed for the cover page of the Written
Submission:
(a.) Prosecution - BLUE
(b.) Defense- RED
9.11. Any Written Submission violating any of the specifications mentioned above will be
penalized by deducting marks.
10. Oral Pleading Sessions
10.1. Any form of scouting during the Competition is strictly prohibited and shall entail
instant disqualification of the team. The decision of the Administrators in this regard
shall be final.
10.2. The order in which teams shall submit their oral pleadings throughout the
Competition shall be: Speaker 1 for Prosecution, Speaker 2 for Prosecution; Speaker 1
for Defense, Speaker 2 for Defense; Rebuttals shall be done by any one Speaker of the
Team.
10.3. In case any opponent team fails to appear in an oral round, the round shall be
conducted ex-parte and the scoring shall be done as if the defaulter team had been
presenting and arguing.
10.4. Before the beginning of the oral rounds of any team, the Speakers of the team shall
inform the court-marshal regarding the order of speaking as well as allocation of time
between themselves and the time reserved for rebuttal. Once informed, the timings
shall not be changed. If any speaker speaks for more than the time reserved for
him/her, the extra time used by such speaker shall be deducted from the time allotted
to the second speaker of that team. If the second speaker exceeds the time allotted to
him/her, such time exceeded shall be deducted from the time reserved for rebuttals.

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10.5. The dress code for the competition as well as any official functions in the duration of
the competition shall be professional business attire.
10.6. Compiled Research Material (Compendium) can be submitted to the court-marshal
prior to the oral rounds which will be submitted to the judges at their discretion. Any
further material may be passed at the discretion of the Judges. Team members can
pass research materials to the speaker in a discreet manner.
10.7. During the oral rounds, teams shall not be allowed to use any electronic devices, like
laptops, LCD projectors, video camera etc.
10.8. Any team violating any of the Rules with respect to the oral rounds may be
disqualified. The decision of the Judges shall be final in this regard.
10.9. Preliminary/Quarter-Finals Rounds
[i.] Each oral round will be for a period of 50 minutes, (inclusive of rebuttals)
wherein each team will be allotted 25 minutes including the time for rebuttals.
Any extension of time beyond this specified period is subject to the discretion
of the Judges.
[ii.] No speaker of a team shall speak for more the than 15 minutes, including time
reserved for rebuttals.
[iii.] No team shall reserve more than 3 minutes for rebuttals.

10.10. Semi - Finals

[i.] Each oral round will be for a period of 60 minutes, (including rebuttals), wherein
each team will be allowed 30 minutes. Any extension of time beyond this specified
period is subject to the discretion of the Judges.
[ii.] No speaker of a team shall speak for more than 18 minutes, including the time
reserved for rebuttals.
[iii.] No team shall reserve more than 5 minutes for rebuttals.

10.11. Finals
[i.]

Each oral round will be for a period of 80 minutes (including rebuttals) wherein each
team will be allowed 40 minutes. Any extension of time beyond this specified period
is subject to the discretion of the Judges.

[ii.]

No speaker of a team shall speak for more than 20 minutes, including the time
reserved for rebuttals.

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[iii.] No team shall reserve more than 5 minutes for rebuttals.

10.12. Teams must not reveal their University or country of origin or names of the Participants
anywhere in the Written Submission or in the course of the Oral arguments, a team must
be identified only by the team code that will be allotted to each team after registration.
Violation of anonymity rules at any point will lead to disqualification and will not be
subject to challenge.
11.

Evaluation Criteria for Written Submission

[i.]
[ii.]
[iii.]
[iv.]

12.

25%
25%
25%
25%

Evaluation Criteria for Oral Pleading Session

[i.]
[ii.]
[iii.]
[iv.]
[v.]

13.

Application of Law and Facts

Reasoning
Use of Authorities and Precedent
Presentation

Interpretation of Facts & its Application

Response to questions and Articulation
Use of Authorities and Precedents
Reasoning in the Application of Principles
Advocacy skills, Court Craft and Demeanor

20%
20%
20%
20%
20%

Miscellaneous
13.1. The Administrator(s) reserve the right to amend, modify, change or repeal any of the
Competition Rules at any point of time. The Administrator(s) shall communicate any
changes made in the Competition Rules to the teams.
13.2. The Administrator(s) reserve the right to take decisions on any matter not mentioned in the
Competition Rules. Any such decision taken by the Administrator(s) shall be final and
binding.
13.3. The Administrator(s) reserve the right to interpret any of the Competition Rules. Such
interpretation shall be final and binding.
13.4. The Administrator(s) may depart from these Competition Rules in exceptional
circumstances, in which case it shall inform all teams of the reasons for such departure.
13.5. The Copyright in the written submission of the teams shall vest with Vivekananda Law
School. Vivekananda Law School shall not be responsible for any liability accrued to any
person or for any loss caused to any person because of the content of the written

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submissions.
13.6. No audio or videotaping of oral pleadings is permitted without the permission of the
Administrator(s).
13.7. The Administrator(s) reserve all rights to audio and videotaping, or any other form of audio
or visual reproduction, of any oral round or part thereof.
13.8. If a team believes that violation of the Competition Rules has taken place at any stage of
the competition, the teams within half an hour after the completion of the round in which
violation has allegedly occurred should register a complaint with the President of the
Advocates Legion.
13.9. Teams under no circumstances shall approach the Judges with any complaints.
14.

Awards
14.1. Best Team shall be given an award and a cash prize of 25,000 INR and a Cash Prize of
15,000 INR shall be awarded to the Runner-Up Team.
14.2. There will be an award and Cash Prize of 10,000 INR for the Best Memorial.
14.3. There will be an award and Cash Prize of 10,000 INR for the Best Speaker.
14.4. The Best team will be determined by the highest aggregate score of all rounds that the
contestant has argued divided by the number of rounds.
14.5. All participants will get Certificates of Participation and all the winners of awards specified
will get Certificates of Appreciation.

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2ND VIVEKANANDA INSTITUTE OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES INTERNATIONAL

MOOT COURT COMPETITION, 2014

REGISTRATION FORM
NAME OF /Institute/COLLEGE/
Universty:________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

Speaker 1:________________________________________________
Name:___________________________________________________________
Year, Course:_____________________________________________________
Email:___________________________________________________________
Contact No.:_______________________________________________________

Speaker 2:________________________________________________
Name:___________________________________________________________
Year, Course:_____________________________________________________
Email:___________________________________________________________
Contact No.:_______________________________________________________

Researcher:_______________________________________________
Name: ___________________________________________________________
Year, Course:______________________________________________________
Email:____________________________________________________________
Contact No.:_______________________________________________________

THE SPEAKERS AND THE RESEARCHER ARE THE BONAFIDE STUDENTS OF THE COLLEGE.

Signature & Seal of the Head of the Institution

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2ND VIVEKANANDA INSTITUTE OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES INTERNATIONAL

MOOT COURT COMPETITION, 2014

TRAVEL PLAN
Kindly email the Travel Plan to the Administrator(s) on or before 1 st November,
2014.

Name of the Institution: ___________________________________________

ARRIVAL

Date of Arrival: ____________________________________________________

Mode (Train/Airways/Bus): ___________________________________________

Number (Train/Airways/Bus): _________________________________________

Time of arrival of Train/Airways/Bus: __________________________________

Other Details (like name of railway station/bus stop/airport etc.): _____________

__________________________________________________________________

Signature and seal of the University/College/Institute

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