ALTERNATE DISPUTE RESOLUTION CELL

NATIONAL LAW INSTITUTE UNIVERSITY, BHOPAL

NINTH
NLIU INADR
INTERNATIONAL MEDIATION
TOURNAMENT, 2021
10-14 MARCH
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RULES

1. GENERAL
1.1. The Ninth edition of the NLIU-INADR International Mediation
Tournament, hosted by National Law Institute University Bhopal, will
be held on 10-14 March 2021.

1.2. Team Orientations and Training Sessions will be held on 10- 12

March, followed by Preliminary Round 1 on 12 March and Preliminary
Rounds 2 & 3 on 13 March 2021. The Semi Finals followed by the Final
Rounds and Valedictory Ceremony would be held on 14 March 2021.

1.3. The Tournament aims at providing law students from top

universities around the world, a truly diverse and competitive platform
to hone and polish their mediation skills and challenging experienced
peers over intricate contemporary scenarios.

1.4. The Tournament will be held Virtually over the audio-visual

communication platform ‘Zoom’.

2. DEFINITIONS
2.1. ‘Advanced Rounds’ means Semi Final and Final Rounds of the
Competition.

2.2. ‘General Information’ means the factual information provided to

both parties, to be mediated upon in the Tournament.

2.3. ‘Organising Committee’ means the Alternative Dispute Resolution

Cell at National Law Institute University, Bhopal in collaboration with
the InterNational Academy of Dispute Resolution.

2.4. ‘Participant Team’ means the group of three eligible students

selected in terms of Clause 3 who have paid the due registration
fees.

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2.5 ‘Qualifying Teams’ means teams which have qualified for the Semi
Finals or Finals of the Tournament.

2.6. ‘Specific Information’ means the additional and confidential

factual information in relation to General Information that is provided
exclusively to only one party.

2.7. ‘Tournament’ means the 9th NLIU-INADR International Mediation

Tournament 2021.

3. ELIGIBILITY & SELECTION

3.1. Individuals currently pursuing Undergraduate & Postgraduate
degrees in law, or such equivalent degrees (LLB, BCL, JD et cetera)
will be eligible to register for participation in the Tournament.

3.2. The last date for registration is 15 February 2021.

3.3. The Competition will be held amongst 36 Teams comprising

three individuals each.

3.4. From the applications received, 36 teams will be shortlisted on

the basis of the mediation curriculum of the concerned institutions
and past performances in major tournaments. The decision regarding
selection of a Participant Team in the Competition is the sole
prerogative of NLIU, Bhopal and shall be final.

3.5. The shortlisted 36 teams shall be intimated and will be required to

pay the registration fees by 28 February 2021 in the following terms:
Indian Teams:
a. INR 7500 per Team
b. Additional INR 1000 for the Coach, if any.
International Teams:
a. USD 100 per Team
b. Additional USD 30 for the Coach, if any.

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3.6. The aforementioned registration fee is inclusive of Tournament
fees and fees for the Training Sessions to be conducted by INADR
Expert Panelists on 10-12 March 2021.

4. FORMAT OF THE COMPETITION

TEAM COMPOSITION

4.1. Each participant team will comprise of Three students eligible in

terms Clause 3.

4.2. No Participant Team will be allowed to change the composition of

its team once the same has been communicated to the Organisation
Committee.

4.3. All three individuals in a participant team must be from the same
educational institution.

4.4. Each Participant Team may be accompanied by a maximum of

one Coach who may attend the Round as a non-video participant and
shall further remain muted throughout the duration of the Round. The
Coach must not be a participant or Judge in the Competition.

COMPETITION PROBLEM

4.5. There shall be separate Competition Problems for all Preliminary

and Advanced Rounds which shall be based on contemporary issues.

4.6. The Competition Problems shall be based on hypothetical facts

and shall not be subject to domestic laws of any Nation. Similarity to
any real event is to be treated as purely coincidental.

4.7. The Competition Problems will have a ‘General Information’ and a

‘Specific Information’.

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4.8. The General Information for all Competition Problems shall be

released on 01 March 2021.

4.9. The Participant Teams may request clarifications on the General

Information on and before 05 March 2021 by mailing the same at
clarifications@nliuadrportal.com .

4.10. Answers to clarifications requested with regard to the General

Information shall be released on 07 March 2021.

4.11. Right to dismiss answering of any clarification is the sole

prerogative of the Author the General Information.

4.12. The Specific Information shall be emailed to the concerned

teams 1 hour prior to the beginning of their Round and shall be
different for each side.

4.13. The Specific Information provided to the participant teams shall

be sensitive to negotiation position of the respective side and must
be kept strictly confidential by the concerned team.

PARTICIPANT ROLES AND ROUNDS

4.14. The Competition shall have Three Preliminary Rounds and Two
Advanced Rounds (Semi-Final and Final)

4.15. In each Round, one of the three eligible Participants in each

team shall take the role of ‘Counsel’, the second shall take the role of
the ‘Client’, and the third shall take the role of the ‘Mediator’.

4.16. No participant shall be allowed to take up one of the aforesaid

three roles more than once. Therefore, by the end of the Three
Preliminary Rounds, a participant must have taken up all three roles
i.e., the client, the counsel and the mediator.

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4.17. Each Tournament Round shall comprise two Mediators, both of

whom will be from teams different from those represented by the two
Client-Counsel pairs in that particular Round.

4.18. The Mediator of a particular team shall never be in the same

Mediation Session/Room as the Client and Counsel of that particular
team.

4.19. The Participant Teams must intimate the Organising Committee

the details regarding the roles each team member will play in each
Preliminary Rounds by 11:59 PM on 08 March 2021.

4.20. The duration of the Preliminary Rounds shall be 60 minutes and

the Advanced Rounds shall be 90 minutes.

4.21. After the conclusion of each Round, a further maximum time

period of 15 minutes shall be allotted cumulatively for Self-Evaluation
by the Participant Teams and Feedback by Judges.

4.22. The Participant Teams are to maintain strict anonymity during

the Rounds and must not disclose the names of the team members,
coach, institution or country to the Judges.

MODE OF CONDUCT

4.23. The Competition will be held on the audio-video communication

Platform Zoom.

4.24. The Participant teams will be assigned by email to a Zoom

meeting for each round, and the link to the same shall be provided
accordingly.

4.25. A demonstration on the conduct of sessions on Zoom will also

be provided to the Participant Teams as part of the Orientation
Session.

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4.26. Each participant is responsible for finding a suitable location,

which is quiet and closed to the public and where the user will have
access to a steady reliable internet connection and source of power.
It is recommended to choose a location with good lighting and
acoustics.

SCORING AND PROGRESSION

4.27. The Judges will mark Participant Teams in each Round based
solely on criteria mentioned in the Judges Score Sheet, which will in
detail outline relevant parameters and sub-parameters.

4.28. A Sample Judges Score Sheet will be released before the

Competition for the Participants’ perusal.

4.29. The Client-Counsel pair that secures higher number of points on

the Rounds’ Score Sheet will be deemed to be the ‘Winner’ of that
particular Round. Likewise, in the case of the Mediators.

4.30. Participant Teams are encouraged to act in the best interests of

the party they represent during a Tournament Round. It is not
necessary that the Participant Teams reach a settlement.

4.31. The Judges will be informed that they cannot mark both teams
with an equal score and must necessarily give higher marks to one
team.

4.32. For the purposes of progression into the Advanced Rounds

(Semi Finals), the Participant Teams will be ranked in the following
order:
a. First, the team with the highest aggregate overall marks of the
three Preliminary Rounds.
b. In case of a tie, first the team with the most number of ‘Wins’
(inclusive of both Mediator and Client-Counsel wins).

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4.33. ‘Client- Counsel’ and ‘Mediator’ shall be treated as different

categories for progression into the Advanced Rounds. However, each
qualifying team has the full discretion to decide which member(s)
shall compete for the category they are qualified in the Advanced
Rounds.

4.34. The Top 4 highest ranking teams in each of the aforementioned

two categories criteria will proceed to the Semi Finals. The same shall
also be followed for progression into the Finals.

4.35. The Participant Teams shall be granted access to Score Sheets

on request.

JUDGES

4.36. The Organising Committee shall be responsible for selecting

the Judges for the Competition and for allocating them in each round
of the Competition. Every attempt will be made for the Participant
Teams to face different Judges in each round however due to limited
availabilities this might not always be possible.

4.37. There will be at least one Judge for each Preliminary Round and
at least three Judges each for the Semi-Final and the Final Rounds.

4.38. The Participant Teams are strictly prohibited from

communicating with the Judges except during the Self Evaluation and
Feedback Sessions.

5. PENALTIES
5.1. Subject to the discretion of the Organising Committee, the
following may result in disqualification of a Participant Team:
a. Change in the composition of a Participant Team from as
previously communicated.
b. Appointment or action of Coach which is in breach of Clause 4.4.
c. Disclosures in breach of Clause 4.13 and 4.22.

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5.2. A deduction up to maximum 10 marks from the Score Sheet of a

particular Round may be made in the following circumstances:
a. Participant Team fails to adhere to time limits set out in the
Tournament Rules or otherwise communicated by the Organising
Committee
b. Participant Teams fails to stay within a reasonable interpretation
of the Competition Problems, in view of the Judge of the particular
Rounds.
c. Any other fundamental breach of the Tournament Rules.

5.3. The Organising Committee’s interpretation as to the

implementation of the Tournament Rules is final and conclusive.

6. MISCELLANEOUS
6.1. The official and only language of the Tournament is English.

6.2. If any one of the members of a Participating Team is notified or

informed of any detail or information concerning the Tournament, it
will be deemed as if the said Participating Team as a whole has been
duly been notified or informed.

6.3. Each member of the Participating Team will be dressed in

formals for the duration of the Tournament.

6.4. The Organising Committee may take such other measures as

are required for the orderly and fair conduct of the Tournament.

6.5. Resolution of any dispute not covered under the Tournament

Rules shall be on the Principles of Natural Justice, and the subsequent
decision of the Organising Committee shall be final and conclusive.

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