Extremely disappointed by the recent incident our team has encountered in the “National Moot Court Competition.”
Giving the precise background, to hone their advocacy and research skills through moot court competitions, the teams (particularly outstation teams) pay their own mounting expenses of traveling, accommodation, and food only in hope of meritorious experience and learning. Please note that we understand minor negligence that may happen at the end of the organizers; however, when the bias is as apparent as daylight, the passion of sincere participants dies.
Cutting it short, we recently participated in a National Moot Court competition (I wouldn’t like to NAME and SHAME, but please if you are reading it and know you have done something similar, please take it seriously), where several teams from a single college participated, making the competition more of an intra than a national one. The apparent policies of the organization leading to the death of merit were:
-1 The number of judges in preliminary rounds was different for the round of each team. Some slots comprised two judges, some three, and in some rounds, four judges constituted the bench. (This means one team is judged on the score of 200, the other is judged on the score of 300 and 400 respectively). Ridiculous.
-2 Secondly, the judges were giving marks by using pencils. (We can understand any underlying policy behind it; however, this was an apparent flaw raising questions on whether the organization had the intent to change results.)
-3 The judges had no idea of what the moot problem is and what the moot culture actually aims to teach. They were more concerned with teaching participants how “HIGH COURT WORKS.”
-4 The organizers did not have any idea as to before which authority the counsel are pleading. Their wrong approach in announcing the court name was sufficient to confuse judges regarding the jurisdiction.
-5 Lastly and most importantly, without apparent merit and policies, sending most teams from a single college to the advance rounds (WITHOUT ANY JUSTIFICATION), making it again more like an intra of one college than one national competition.
National organizers, PLEASE note that if you are undertaking a responsibility for anyone’s professional development and that at the participant’s own expense, please be careful of what policies you are adopting in the name of merit. Merit shouldn’t be claimed only. It should be practiced in letter and spirit.
#NationalMootCourt #SupportMerit
Congratulations to all! 👏