1ST NLUO-PHFI PUBLIC HEALTH LAW

NATIONAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION,

2021
JUNE 25-27, 2021

ORGANISED BY

CENTRE FOR PUBLIC HEALTH LAW

(NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, ODISHA)

IN ASSOCIATION
WITH

ADDENDUM
 1. Format of the Competition
1.1.Preliminary rounds: Each team will get to present only one side i.e., either petitioner or
respondent according to the fixtures prepared by the OC. For the Preliminary Rounds, the
teams shall be ranked on the basis of the cumulative scores of the memorial submissions
and speaker scores of the preliminary rounds as mentioned in Annexure A and
Annexure B, respectively.

1.2.Octa Final Rounds: The sixteen (16) highest ranked teams from the Preliminary Rounds
shall proceed to the Octa Final Rounds, as determined by the Rules above. These teams
shall each argue only ONCE for the side allotted by a draw of lots. The fixtures for the
Octa Final Rounds shall be as follows:
Rank 1 v. Rank 16 (Octa Final Round I)
Rank 2 v. Rank 15 (Octa Final Round II)
Rank 3 v. Rank 14 (Octa Final Round III)
Rank 4 v. Rank 13 (Octa Final Round IV)
Rank 5 v. Rank 12 (Octa Final Round V)
Rank 6 v. Rank 11 (Octa Final Round VI)
Rank 7 v. Rank 10 (Octa Final Round VII)
Rank 8 v. Rank 9 (Octa Final Round VIII)

For the Octa Final Rounds, the teams shall be ranked on the basis of the criteria of
evaluation of the speaker scores only, as mentioned in the Annexure B below. Only four
(4) teams shall qualify for the Semi-Final Rounds from this round.

1.3. Semi- Final Round: The four (4) teams that proceed to the Semi Final Rounds, as
determined by the Rules above, shall each argue only ONCE for the side allotted by a
draw of lots. The fixtures for the Semi Final Rounds shall be as follows:
Rank 1 v. Rank 4 (Semi Final Round I)
Rank 2 v. Rank 3 (Semi Final Round II)
Two (2) teams shall qualify for the Final Round on a knock out basis, that is, the winner
of each Semi Final Rounds shall qualify to the Final Round.

1.4. Final Round: The two (2) teams that proceed to the Final Round, as determined by the
Rules above, shall each argue only ONCE for the side allotted by a draw of lots. The
team which wins the Final Round shall be declared as the ‘Winning Team’. The other
team shall be declared as the ‘Runners-Up Team’.
 1.5. Fixtures:
1.5.1. In the Preliminary Rounds, Seeding Match-up system shall be used to determine the
fixtures.
1.5.2. In the Octa-final and Semi-final rounds, the Power Match-Up system, with the help of
scores, shall be used to determine the Matchups.
1.5.3. Please note that due to the Power Match Ups for the Octa-final and Sem-final rounds, a
situation may arise wherein a Team may have to argue against a Team that it has already
argued against in a previous round. Further, a situation may also arise that the teams may
have argued as Appellant or Respondent before another team with whom they have another
round subsequently, with the same roles of Appellant or Respondent being allotted again.
The same is not barred as per the Rules of the Competition.
1.6. The Written Submission points will not be taken into consideration for any round beyond
Preliminary Round.
1.7. Only in case of tie, the team with higher memorial marks will be taken into consideration
to break the tie.
1.8. The Teams shall be mailed the fixtures for each round. Further, the Teams shall also be
mailed the soft copy of their opponent’s Written Submission prior to the oral rounds.

2. Oral Submissions

2.1. The language of the Court shall be English only.

2.2. Each Preliminary Round and Octa Final Rounds shall, subject to the discretion of the
Judges, consist of sixty (60) minutes of argument. The Petitioner and the Respondent shall
be allotted thirty (30) minutes each, subject to the discretion of the Judges.
2.3. Only two members from each Team shall make oral presentations in each round. Each
Team may allocate its thirty (30) minutes between the two speakers and the rebuttal/sur-
rebuttal at their discretion. Each Speaker must be allocated a minimum of ten minutes
(10), not including the time for rebuttal/sur-rebuttal.
2.4. In the Semi Final and Final Rounds, the total time permitted to each Team for presenting
arguments may be extended to forty-five (45) minutes at the discretion of the judges, with
corresponding changes in the minimum time prescribed for each Speaker. Each Speaker
must be allocated a minimum of eighteen minutes (18), not including the time for
rebuttal/sur-rebuttal.
 2.5. Only ONE speaker from each team shall be permitted to rebut/sur-rebut, as the case may
be, subject to a time limit of five (5) minutes. The sur-rebuttal shall be limited to the
rebuttals made by the team. If the Appellant/Petitioner waives rebuttal, Respondent’s sur-
rebuttal is automatically waived as well. The rebuttal/sur-rebuttal shall be graded within the
criteria provided in Annexure B and not separately.
2.6. The time split between the speakers must be communicated to the bailiff prior to the
commencement of each round.
2.7. There shall be no communication, oral, written or in any other manner whatsoever, between
the other team members and the speaker making oral submissions.
2.8. Teams shall not be permitted to use ANY other electronic device, besides the device through
which they are presenting their oral rounds to the judges, while their rounds are in session
and violation of this rule may lead to the disqualification of the team.
2.9. The teams shall not disclose, in any manner whatsoever, for the entire duration of the
rounds, the identity of the institution that they represent. However, a mention of speaker
names in the scoresheets shall not amount to violation of anonymity.

2.10. Teams can pass on compendium of the sources they cite in their memorial if so requested by
the judges. In the interest of ensuring anonymity, the material passed as compendium to the
Bench must not contain any sign, symbol or text that reveal the identity of the institution to
which the team belongs.
2.11. In every round of the Competition, teams arguing ‘For’ will argue their case first.
2.12. Oral Rounds will be evaluated based on the criteria mentioned in Annexure B.

3. Delay in Appearance/Presentation

3.1. If a team scheduled to participate in the oral submissions of a round does not appear for ten
(10) minutes after the scheduled commencement of such round, the other team shall have to
make oral submissions ex-parte. It shall be up to the discretion of the Organizers on whether
to allow or disallow a team to present their oral submissions in case it does not appear
within ten (10) minutes after the scheduled commencement of the round.

3.2. The oral pleadings shall be conducted over an online video conferencing platform, the link
for which shall be shared with the team members, not later than 30 minutes prior to the oral
pleadings.
3.3. The team members are requested to be dressed in formals suitable for a court room
proceeding. The team members would be excused from wearing blazers and ties in case the
same are not available to them in the present circumstances.

3.4. The team members are required to keep the video on for the entire duration of the rounds. It
must be ensured that the visibility of a participant in an oral round is up to their torso,
including their shoulder and hands. Additionally, before the commencement of each round,
an audio check will be done for the members who are speaking during the oral pleadings,
and in case of any issues, they are expected to communicate the same immediately using the
Chat option. The participants must ensure that they are seated in a noise free area with
minimum disturbances and the Organisers shall not be liable for any technical issues that
may arise.
3.5. The team members are not permitted to chat or communicate privately with the judges
during the rounds. The Organisers shall use the chat option to signify the time left and the
members of the team are required to keep an eye on the time themselves as well.

3.6. In case of any technical issues or network problems that arise during the course of the oral
rounds, the participant must immediately inform the Organisers who are moderating the
session and are part of the meeting room. The Organisers shall take account of time lost and
ensure that time allotted to a team for their oral pleadings is adhered to.

3.7. Use of any unfair means and violation of these instructions is strictly prohibited. The
Organisers shall be the final arbiter in case of any conflicts/issues raised during the conduct
of the moot court competition.

4. Scouting
4.1. Scouting by the speakers, researcher or any other person affiliated with a team will lead to
the immediate disqualification of such team.
Scouting shall be deemed to have happened if any person affiliated with a team is found:
a) Witnessing, hearing, observing, etc. the oral submissions in a round, except where the
round is one in which the team to which he/she is affiliated is participating in; or

b) Reading a memorial of a team except where:

• It is of the team to which he/she is affiliated; or

• The memorial has been obtained on account of an exchange of memorial prior to a
round of the team to which he/she is affiliated.
 ANNEXURE A

1st NLUO-PHFI PUBLIC HEALTH LAW NATIONAL MOOT

COURT COMPETITION, 2021

WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS: MARKING SHEET

Team Code ….

APPELLANT or RESPONDENT *
*
strike out whichever is not applicable

Criteria Comments Score

Legal Analysis • Knowledge and
understanding of the relevant
area of law and practice
• Understanding of legal
issues, their interrelationship /20
Research • Skills in finding and
researching sources of
relevant areas of law and /or
practice
/30
Argument • Logical structure, effective
overview and conclusion
• Legal arguments relate to the
facts
• Legal arguments based on a
sound knowledge of the law /30
Style • Clear and concise
• Correct citations
• Correct acknowledgement of
all sources
• Logical/easy to follow /20
• Persuasive legal argument

TOTAL /100
 ANNEXURE B
1st NLUO-PHFI PUBLIC HEALTH LAW NATIONAL MOOT
COURT COMPETITION, 2021
ROUNDS: INDIVIDUAL MOOT MARKING SHEET

MOOT No……,

between Team …. (Appellant) and Team ….

(Respondent)

Name .................................................................. (Senior/Junior* counsel for

Appellant/Respondent*)
*
strike out whichever is not
applicable

Criteria Comments Score

Content of oral •
Logical structure, effective
argument overview and conclusion
• Understanding of legal
issues, their interrelationship
• Legal arguments relate to the
facts, are based on a sound
knowledge of the law, and
are reasonably arguable in the
current state of the law
• Understands, addresses and /30
rebuts points of opponent
Speaking ability and • Courtroom style and manner
delivery, including of delivery – ‘conversation’
formal aspect of with the bench while
answering questions sufficiently formal and
professional
• Overall persuasiveness
• Speaks with conviction and /40
sincerity
Substantive aspect • Understands object of
of answering questions
questions from the • Answers questions correctly,
bench concisely and without
evasion
• Sufficiently flexible to the
needs of the bench, while
effectively integrating
answers into argument /30
• Remains composed during
questioning

TOTAL /100