THE 18TH NATIONAL LAW SCHOOL DEBATE, 2021

Hello and welcome to the 18th National Law School Debate! We are really excited to host all
of you at our tournament. In order to ensure the tournament runs smoothly, we would strongly
recommend all participants (debaters and adjudicators) to go through this tournament guide.

I. Procedure for Rounds

1. All debates will be conducted on Zoom. Participants are requested to download the latest
version of the server (which enables breakout rooms) from http://www.zoom.us.
2. Participants have to check-in via their private URLs (which can be obtained from the
Discord Server) or the Tabtastic embedded message at the start of all three days. On all
days, check-ins would open from 8:00am to 09:30 am IST. Please don’t forget to check-in!
Participants will not be included in the draw if they do not check in within this time period.
3. Zoom Call and Discord Link:
a. All participants are requested to join the Discord server, which will serve as the location
for all announcements. All briefings will be conducted on the Discord server.
b. The Zoom meetings will be open from 8:30 am on all days. We will be using two Zoom
meetings for the tournament. The links are available on Facebook, Discord and
WhatsApp.
c. Debate rooms will be divided between the two zoom calls. Once the draw is released
on Discord, you will know which zoom call you have to join.
d. When logging in, make sure you set your username in the following format:
● For judges: J – Name e.g., J – Shahrukh Khan
● For teams: (Short Team Name) (Name of Speaker) e.g., NLS A - Priyanka Chopra
4. Draw & Motion Release:
a. The draw will be shared to all participants on Discord. The draw will also be released
on the Tab Website and WhatsApp group simultaneously or very shortly before it's
released on Zoom.
b. After release of draws, each team should log into their respective zoom calls and move
into a breakout room. This is where the debate will take place. You will see a list of
breakout rooms at the bottom of your screen. Click ‘Join’ on the room you have been
assigned.
c. Once all teams have entered their breakout rooms, the motions will be released on
Discord, the Tab Website and WhatsApp group. We will be releasing 3 motions for
each round of the debate. In case of any clarifications pertaining to the motions, please
ask the adjudication core through the Discord channel.
d. After release of motions, the teams will have to decide on a motion to debate. This will
take place through ‘strike-outs’. Both teams will privately rank the three motions in
their order of preference. The least preferred motion for each team will be eliminated,
and the teams will debate the motion that remains.
Example 1: There are 3 motions – X, Y and Z. NLS A and NLS B are the teams with
the following preferences.

NLS A NLS B

X 1 3

Y 2 1

Z 3 2

In this case, motions X and Z will be eliminated. NLS A and NLS B will debate Motion
Y.
Example 2: If both teams have the same first, second and third preference, the first
preference will be debated.
 Example 3: If both teams have the same third preference, but different first and second
preference, motion will be selected through a coin toss, conducted by the adjudicator in
the room.
e. Teams will have 30 minutes for preparation, which will begin once the motion is
released. Teams are expected to decide a motion within 5 minutes, after which the
remaining time can be used for preparation.
f. Teams should switch over to their preferred communication method for preparation.
Each team has discretion to use a platform of their choice (e.g., WhatsApp, Discord
etc.)
g. It is crucial you do not leave Zoom during prep. You should stay in the breakout room
for the whole duration (just mute yourself during your prep). Do keep an eye on the
Zoom breakout room, especially as prep time approaches its end.
5. Debate:
a. The debate proceeds in the Zoom Breakout room as a debate normally would. Anyone
not speaking should have their microphones muted.
b. Speakers should indicate how they would wish to receive POIs before their speeches.
If a speaker does not indicate any preference, we would recommend debaters to ask for
POIs in the chat or to open their video and signal to the speaker (a wave usually works).
c. Please do NOT unmute and ask for POIs, unless the speaker has indicated their
preference for such. Once a POI has been accepted, you can unmute and ask it.
6. Deliberation and Ballot Submission:
a. Once the debate is over, each judge will reach a decision on their own. If it is a solo
chair, the judge should simply mute their audio, come to a decision and then deliver the
verdict. If it is a panel, each judge will deliver their oral adjudication one at a time.
There will be no deliberation before each judge delivers their verdict.
b. The chair must fill out their online ballot BEFORE delivering the oral adjudication.
Panelists are required to DM their ballots to the Chair, who will submit the online ballot
on their behalf. The Panelists must message the Chair on Discord with their ballot. The
ballot must mention the result, margin of victory and speaker scores for each
participant.
c. All teams are requested to fill feedback for the judge delivering the OA as soon as the
debate ends.
 d. While the OA would be given by each adjudicator in the breakout room, any further
questions/feedback to the debaters should be given over WhatsApp/Discord. This is so
that the host can quickly close breakout rooms and prepare for the next debate.

II. Open Break

1. On completing preliminary rounds, the top 16 teams will qualify for the pre-quarter finals.
Teams will be ranked on the basis of total points. If two teams have the same number of
points, the team with more speaker points will be ranked higher. If two teams have the same
points total and speaker scores, average margin of victory will be used to rank the teams.
2. In addition, the four teams ranked immediately after will constitute the ‘reserve break pool’.
If any breaking team does not check in for Pre-Quarter finals, they will be replaced by the
highest ranked reserve break team.
3. In case a team cannot participate in a preliminary round, they will be replaced by a swing
team. The team that has missed the round will be awarded a loss, along with floor speaker
scores. In order to break, a team cannot miss more than one round.
4. Teams are permitted to iron-person 2 rounds out of 6 preliminary rounds in order to break.
If one debater gives multiple speeches, the highest score will be used in tabulating speaker
scores.
5. In case a speaker is forced to withdraw midway through the tournament, teams are
permitted to arrange for a replacement from the same institution. In that case, neither
speaker is eligible for any speaker awards.
6. Subject to Clause II (3), a team can iron-person and miss a maximum of two preliminary
rounds to be eligible to break.

III. Novice Break

1. On completing preliminary rounds, 4 novice teams qualify for novice semi-finals. If a team
qualifies for novice semi-finals as well as open pre-quarter finals, they will participate in
the latter.
2. A team will be eligible to participate as a ‘novice team’ if all three debaters have not
participated in three debate tournaments previously, either as a speaker or an adjudicator.
IV. Judge Break
1. In order for a Core Adjudicator or Invited Adjudicator to break, they must have judged a
minimum of 4 preliminary rounds. For all other adjudicators, they must have judged at least
5 preliminary rounds.
2. An adjudicator may withdraw from a round by informing the OC on WhatsApp at least one
hour before motion release for the next round.
V. Technical Problems
1. If a Speaker is not disconnected but cuts out to the degree of being incomprehensible and/or
disconnects and cannot reconnect for the allotted duration of their speech, the following
procedure is to be followed:
● In case an entire team disconnects during a round, they will be replaced by a swing
team immediately. The chair in the room must inform the OC about the same, so that
the swing team can be notified. If the team doesn’t reconnect within 3 minutes, the
swing team shall take their place.
● If a speaker disconnects or is incomprehensible, the chair's timer is to be paused. The
speaker is allowed to use the remainder of their speech if they return within a reasonable
time (usually 3- 5 minutes). If the speaker cannot return, their team partner may step up
and deliver the remainder of the speech. This would count as them iron-personing the
round.
2. If another participant in the room drowns out the speech and the host cannot mute them,
the speaker is paused until the disruption stops. Repeated disruptions may be punishable
under the Equity Policy.
3. If the Chair disconnects mid debate, the debate should pause immediately and stay paused
until the chair returns. If the chair does not return within 5 minutes, the panelists must
contact the host in the main zoom meeting. If there are no panelists for the room, a member
of the debate should contact the host in the main zoom call.
4. If a panelist or trainee disconnects during a speech, the Chair is required to stop the debate
for 5 minutes, and inform the host in the main zoom meeting room.