1ST NATIONAL MEDIATION COMPETITION –

2023

RULES AND REGULATIONS

 INTRODUCTION

• The National Mediation Competition (hereinafter referred as NMC) is a mediation

competition conducted by The Legal Lock exclusively for the law students.
• The First edition of NMC will be held on the 16th and 17th of September, 2023, in
online mode on Zoom/Microsoft/Webex.
• Its aim is to promote and foster the culture of mediation as a form of alternative dispute
resolution amongst students from Universities across India and abroad, through the
provision of simulations of real-world disputes amenable to mediation procedures. The
Competition shall be governed by the Rules set out herein.

WHAT MAKES US UNIQUE?

NMC is unique as there will only be one single Problem with evolving and increasingly
complex Confidential Information (‘CI’) given as the rounds advance. The allotment of
Sides may change after each Round. To ensure a complete understanding of the
evolving Problem, the CI of both Sides from the previous Round shall be revealed to
all participating teams before the next round.

GENERAL RULES
1. ELIGIBILITY
It’s open for all law students to participate in the First Edition of NMC, 2023.
2. TEAM COMPOSITION
2.1 Each team must comprise of three members – One Mediator, One Client, and
One Counsel. The roles of the participants must remain consistent throughout
all rounds of the Competition. Each Round shall comprise of a Client-Counsel
pair from each Side and 2 Mediators. Please note that there is no need of college
authorization, and the cross-college team is allowed to participate.
2.2 Participants are expected to choose their teams extremely carefully, and excuses
with regard to team composition shall not be entertained unless unforeseen
circumstances mandate otherwise.
3. REGISTRATION
A student has to register for the competition according to the following procedure-
3.1 Open the Google form titled ‘1st National Mediation Competition Registration
Form’ by clicking here. (Hereinafter referred to as ‘NMCRF’)
 3.2 Fill in the form as instructed.
3.3 Submit one NMCRF per team.
3.4 After the last date of registration, each team shall be allotted a Team Code.
3.5 A student may register for NMC within the stipulated date and time as
mentioned in the schedule announced.
3.6 Any delay in the registration procedure, partial compliance with the procedure,
undertaking the registration procedure post the expiration of the scheduled dates
of registration, and non-compliance with the registration process will be
deemed as no registration.
3.7 The power to waive the condition mentioned in Rule 3.6 lies with the Legal
Lock.
3.8 For the schedule of the 1st NMC, please refer to Annexure.
4. MEDIATION SESSION PROCEDURES
4.1 The OC shall assign teams and sides in the Preliminary Rounds through the
process of anonymized Draw of Lots.
4.2 The total score for all the Client and Counsel teams and the Mediators shall be
calculated at the end of the two Preliminary Rounds, on the basis of which top
8 Client Counsel Pairs and top 8 Mediators shall advance to the Semi-Finals.
Thereafter, the qualification of teams to the Semi-Finals and Finals shall be
conducted on the basis of Knockouts during the Quarters and Semi-Finals, with
the best teams i.e. The Best Client-Counsel and the Best Mediator in each room,
qualifying for the Semi-Finals and Finals respectively.
4.3 Participants are accountable for keeping track of time along with the
timekeeper. Each Preliminary Round shall be of a total of 60 minutes. The
Semi–Finals and Finals will be of 90 minutes. The time will continue to run
during the Caucuses as well
After the completion of each Round, the judges will be provided with 15
minutes to ask both Teams and Mediators questions regarding the strategies
employed by them. The Q&A will not in itself be scored, but rather, assist the
judges to score the Teams better on the given criteria.
4.4 Members of a competing team or any other team shall not be allowed to observe
any of the rounds except Semi-Finals and Finals. The teams observed to be
involved in or benefiting from any such practices shall be subject to
disqualification.
4.5 Use of any electronic device other than the one with which they are operating
is not permitted during the session.
4.6 Caucuses and Breaks –
4.6.1 A Caucus can take place between a mediator and both members of the
Requesting Party or the Responding Party. During each mediation
session, the Mediator and the Competing Teams have the right to call for
a Caucus in accordance with the following provisions:
➢ The maximum time limit for a caucus is 10 minutes (5 minutes
per team) out of 60 minutes during the Prelims and Quarters.
➢ The maximum time limit for a caucus is 14 minutes (7 minutes
per team) out of 90 minutes in Semis and Finals.
➢ The Caucus can be requested by either the Mediator or the Client
or Counsel of either Team.
➢ The teams can’t reject the call for a Caucus initiated by the
Mediator, nor the Mediator can.
➢ Each side or Mediator may request only ONE caucus during each
Round.
➢ Teams going for Caucus will be sent to a separate room in order
to maintain confidentiality.
4.6.2 A break can be initiated by the competing Teams at any stage during the
Round in accordance with the following provisions:
➢ The maximum time limit for a break can be 4 minutes (2 minutes
per team) out of 60 minutes during Prelims and Quarters.
➢ The maximum time limit for a break is 8 minutes (4 minutes per
team) out of 90 minutes during the Semis and Finals.
➢ Only Teams are allowed to call for breaks and not Mediators
➢ The maximum number of breaks permissible in the Prelims,
Quarters and Semis is one and in Finals it’s two.
➢ The team requesting for the Breal must acquire the assent of the
other Team since Break must acquire the assent of the other
Team. Since break time will apply to both Teams equally.
➢ Both members of the Team are not permitted to talk to anyone
other tan each other or use any electronic devices during the
break. No team shall leave the meeting room.
 4.7 The Participants shall not at any stage of the Tournament disclose the name of
their institution to the judges and shall have to use their assigned team code.
Non compliance with this rule will result in immediate disqualification of the
team.
5. FORMAT OF THE ROUNDS
5.1 Competition Problem
There shall be one problem for the entire tournament, with different sets of
Confidential Information being released to the teams for each round. The
Confidential information provided for each subsequent round shall be distinct
but will be connected to the Confidential Information from Previous Rounds.
Since team sides may change with each subsequent round, the Confidential
Information of both sides shall be made public once each Round has ended.
The General and Confidential Information shall be self-contained, and teams
shall be prohibited from deviating from the facts provided in the Problem in any
manner possible, including the creation of a background story, the
misrepresentation of facts, or the creation of new facts. However, teams may
reasonably interpret the problem in order to draw reasonable conclusions. In
case of any conflict, the Judges and OC have full discretion on whether
inferences drawn are reasonable or not.
5.2 Disclosure of the Confidential Information
The Confidential Information for the rounds shall be disclosed to the teams 60
minutes (1 hour) prior to the start of their respective rounds. The Teams are
absolutely prohibited from disclosing the confidential information to their
Mediator or to any other participant in the Competition. The Mediators
participating shall at no time prior to their Rounds have access to the
Confidential Information for either party for the respective Round, and neither
competing Client and Counsel Pair shall have access to the Confidential
Information of the Opposing Party at any time prior to their respective Round.
The violation of this Rule may lead to the disqualification of the team concerned
at the discretion of the Organising Committee.
5.3 Designation of Member Roles –
Each team shall send in their designated member roles for each team member
(either as a Counsel, Client or the Mediator), prior to the beginning of the
Competition, which shall be the specific team member’s designated role for the
 entire duration of the Competition. Non-adherence to Member Roles shall lead
to the application of Penalties.
6. JUDGING CRITERIA
There are two judges for each Preliminary Round. The judges will score
independently of each other. Judges are provided all of the information provided to
the teams. Students may not at any time confer with the judges until their ballots
have been turned in. Thereafter the judges may provide a brief feedback.
The judging criteria for the mediation plans, preliminary rounds as well as the final
rounds is laid out in the Scoresheets. These will be provided to the judges before
the round. Further, the judges will be duly briefed about the contents of the
scoresheet to ensure consistency in marking.
7. POWERS OF OC
In case of any changes to the Rules, the Organizers committee shall communicate
the details to the participants. All discretionary power with respect to the
interpretation of rules and the outcomes of the Competition rounds vests with the
Organizers. The decision of the OC shall be final and binding.

NOTE – There is no need to submit a written strategy.