Nirma University wins Manipal Law School moot court competition

NEW DELHI: Manipal Law School organised the 1st edition of Dr TMA Pai International Technology Arbitration Moot 2024 on March 30 and 31. Nirma University won the competition while SVKM NMIMS Kirit P Mehta School of Law took the second position. The winners were awarded a cash prize of Rs 1,50,000 while the runners up received Rs. 50,000.

Maharashtra National Law University (MNLU) Nagpur won the best speaker and the best researcher award while University of Chittagong Bangladesh was awarded the best memorial award. The teams debated on the theme ‘intersection of technology and international arbitration law’.

16 teams participate

The top 16 teams from India, Kenya and Bangladesh participated in preliminary round on March 30. After a whole day of brainstorming sessions and arbitration in front of a panel of esteemed arbitrators from industry, two teams finally went ahead for the final round.

The final round was arbitrated by a distinguished panel of legal luminaries: Datuk Sundra Rajoo, president, AIADR, Kuala Lumpur; Hemant Gupta, former Supreme Court judge; P Krishna Bhat, former Karnataka high court justice and Ganesh Chandru, partner, Dua Associates, Chennai.

New moot court hall

Former chief justice of India MN Venkatachaliah inaugurated the Manipal Law School moot court hall. Additionally, Manipal Law School also launched an LLM programme on International Investment and Commercial Arbitration during the valedictory ceremony. The programme will be offered in both offline and blended mode offering prospective students a more flexible approach to education from August 2024.

Also read TAPMI Manipal UG admissions 2024 open; check details here

Venkatachaliah said, “I’m deeply sensible of the honour of this invitation from the President of Manipal Academy of Higher Education. The landscape of legal institutions is not static, with the advent of AI and digital technologies our methods are evolving. Additionally, the changes and challenges brought about by the recent pandemic propelled the courts worldwide to embrace online hearings and electronic filing systems thereby, hazing the integration of technology into the legal sphere. Therefore, lawyers must uphold their core duties to the court ensuring that AI serves as an aid rather than a replacement in the pursuit of justice”.