DR.

RAM MANOHAR LOHIYA NATIONAL LAW

UNIVERSITY, LUCKNOW

DEBATE AND DISCUSSION COMMITTEE

LITIGIUM XI
9-10 SEPTEMBER 2022

RULEBOOK

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 RULES AND
FORMAT

1. ELIGIBILITY

1.1 Litigium is a form of simulated competitive discussion where the winner is the
team that most effectively persuades the adjudicator by providing arguments,
constructives, analyses and examples that support their side of the house on a
specified motion.

1.2 As it is a fresher exclusive activity, therefore only first-year students of

the BA LL. B course are eligible to participate in it.

2. FORMAT

2.1 The competition comprises of four stages: -

• 2 Preliminary Rounds (4-minute speeches) (1v1)
• Quarterfinals (5-minute speeches) (2v2)
• Semifinals (7-minute speeches) (3v3)
• Finals (7-minute speeches) (3v3)
where selected participants will advance based on individual speaker scores
in the Preliminary rounds, and Team scores in the subsequent rounds. Every
round shall consist of a motion with two sides: the proposition and the
opposition.
2.2 The Debate and Discussion Committee reserves the right to amend, alter,
vary, or change the rules governing the competition.
2.3 The preliminary stage of the tournament will consist of two rounds which will
be based on traditional 1v1 debating where both sides will have one speaker
each.
2.4 Top 16 speakers based on their speaker scores will qualify for the
Quarterfinals, which will be based on 2v2 debating with two speakers on each
side.
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2.5 The winning teams in their respective rounds will advance to the Semifinals.
 The format for the Semifinals would be the Asian Parliamentary form of
debate where a mentor from the 2nd Year will be allotted to them for the
remainder of the rounds (the mentor will act as their third team member).The
teams will qualify to the Finals based on their team scores.

3. SCORING

Every round will be adjudged by a panel of senior and accomplished debaters of the college.
The participants shall be judged primarily on the content of their speech, their method of
argumentation, and manner of presentation. Matter, method, and manner will be explained
below: -

• Matter – It is the core content of your speech. It consists of assertions, their analyses,
examples, constructives, models, impacts, and anything that you wish to utilize in order
to strengthen your case.

• Method – Method is the way in which you structure both yours and your team’s
speeches for maximum clarity and maximum impact. Given below is a model of how
one ideally structures the matter and ideas into a debate speech for a round:

SPEECH

ARGUMENT 1 ARGUMENT 2 ARGUMENT 3

A A A A A A A A A
N N N N N N N N N
A A A A A A A A A
L L L L L L L L L
Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
S S S S S S S S S
I I I I I I I I I
S S S S S S S S S
#1 #2 #3 #1 #2 #3 #1 #2 #3

EXAMPLES EXAMPLES EXAMPLES

• Manner – The way a speaker presents their arguments to the adjudicating panel and
the audience refers to the manner of a speech. This entails things such as body language,
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hand gestures, posture, voice modulation, etc. Speakers may stand in a number of ways
 to communicate their message: some remain stationary, while others walk around the
stage. The adjudicator will consider whether the speaker's position was distracting or
suitable and successful in the context of the speaker's overall presentation. Speakers
should select a posture that they are comfortable with.

In case of a tie, the breaks will be finalized based on the speaker scores in the following order
of precedence –

Matter/Content of speech > Method of argumentation > Manner of presentation

The weightage given to each metric is 40% matter, 40% method and 20%
manner.

4. SPEAKER ROLES
4.1 In 1v1 debating, each participant shall be accorded with 4 minutes to present
their
speeches (consisting of their constructives and rebuttals). The order shall be as
follows:

Proposition (4 min),

followed by Opposition (5 min),

concluded by Proposition (1 min) to rebut the arguments of the Opposition.

Preparation time of 15 minutes shall be given to each speaker before this
speech.

4.2 The Quarterfinals will be contested between teams of two and the time for
each speaker would be 5 minutes.
The preparation time would be of 20 minutes. The teams will be made by the
organizing committee based on speaker scores.

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 4.3 The Semifinals and Finals will have three-member teams in which the 2 first
year debaters will be assisted by a senior debater as a coach to mentor those
two.
According to the rules of a standard 3v3 Asian Parliamentary Debate, 7
minutes are accorded to each participant, and 4 minutes for Reply Speeches,
in the order mentioned below:

GOVERNMENT OPPOSITION

Prime Minister (Speaker 1) Leader of Opposition (Speaker 2)

Deputy Prime Minister (Speaker 3) Deputy Leader of Opposition

(Speaker 4)

Government Whip (Speaker 5) Opposition Whip (Speaker 6)

Reply Speaker (Gov) Reply Speaker (Opp.)

4.4 It is to be noted that the senior member tasked with the duty to mentor, coach
and participate with the first-year team is only allowed to take the role of the
Whip Speaker from their respective side of the house.

5. AWARDS

5.1 The final round shall reveal the best fresher team based on the above-
mentioned criteria.
5.2 The Finalists, Semifinalists and the top 5 speakers of the preliminary rounds
shall be given prizes and a certificate of Merit.

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