20 January 2019
6:37pm
The award for the Best Team goes to NLU Jodhpur on the basis of Preliminary rounds with a cash prize of Rs. 5000. Runners Up Negotiator goes to Rituparna Padhy, NLU Orissa and cash prize of Rs. 7,500. Best Negotiator has been won by Priyanka Sunjay, NLU Jodhpur and she is awarded with cash prize worth Rs. 15,000. Runner-Up Mediator is Arshia Roy, NUJS Kolkata and is awarded with cash prize worth Rs. 7,500. Best Mediator is Aditi Pradeep, Jindal Global Law School, who is honored with a cash prize worth Rs. 15,000.
5:55pm
Hon’ble Vice Chancellor has delivered his address, lauding the participants for taking steps towards ADR mechanisms, in light of the shift towards out-of-court settlements as a preference over litigation.
5:48pm
The Valedictory Ceremony has begun. Hon’ble Justice AR Masoodi of Allahabad High Court Lucknow Bench is presiding as the Chief Guest.
5:15pm
The Post-Consultation session with the Mediators is over. There are no questions for the Negotiators. Result is awaited.
5:04pm
The parties have delivered their closing statements. Judges shall be conducting a Post-Consultation session, beginning with the Mediators.
4:58pm
The Round is set to be completed in 10 minutes. Both teams are adamantly negotiating on point of control over property.
4:42pm
The Negotiators have reached a settlement on several issues and are currently negotiating settlement for others.
3:56pm
The Mediation session is 90 minutes long and the agenda has been set by the Mediators. Negotiations have begun on the first item of three, on the agenda- valuation of land sold to Plaintiff, Housing Society of Universal Software Employees (House).
3:48pm
Negotiator N10 is delivering her opening statement, highlighting facts of the case on behalf of her client, Nafeesa, in a dispute regarding sale of ancestral land.
3:43pm
The Negotiators have introduced themselves and presently Negotiator N12 is making her opening statement.
3:39pm
Both Mediators are making their opening statements, familiarizing the negotiators with the process and aspects of mediation.
3:37pm
The Final Rounds have begun.
3:10pm
The Final Rounds’ preparation has commenced, with Mediators from NUJS and Jindal Global Law School and Negotiators from NLU Jodhpur and National Law University Orissa, having qualified. Confidential information has been released. Judges’ briefing is currently underway. The Finals’ problem has been drafted by Mr. Hari Krishnan, an alumnus who is practicing at Kerala High Court.
11:45am
The Semi-Final Rounds commenced, on a problem drafted by Mr. Ankit Yadav, an alumnus who has pursued his Masters from New York University and is currently practicing at the Supreme Court. The problem revolves around a dispute regarding granting asylum to refugees, between two neighbouring countries with differing ethnic compositions- Republic of Kamanya and Peoples’ Republic on Kronica. The dispute has been referred by the UN Security Council vide a special resolution, to a special panel of mediators under the supervision of the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees.
19 January 2019
11am-12:30pm
The first Preliminary Round commenced at 11am. The problem was drafted by Mr. Gaurav Pathak, an alumnus of RML, currently practicing Law in Delhi and acting as General Secretary of think-tank, Centre for Accountability and Systemic Change. It concerned a dispute between a parent company Alpha, responsible for engineering a knee replacement device that turned toxic due to release of metal debris and an association of patients, SOS Association, claiming damages for the same. The problem was drafted with the objective of focusing on the process of dispute resolution over the outcomes.
2:45pm-4:15pm
The second Preliminary Round was based on a problem drafted by Mr. Abhishek Dwivedi, an alumnus working in the Dispute Resolution Team at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas. The conflict was due to trade by two countries, Republic of New York and Democratic Republic of Ceylon via a Port located in the semi-autonomous Region of Texus. It also included a dispute on seeking consular access to a New York citizen, studying in Ceylon, who was charged with treason and attempt to incite war against Ceylon. The rounds were expectedly intense and judges were overall quite satisfied with the performance.
6:45pm
Breaks into the Quarter-Final Rounds have been announced. The rounds will commence in 15 minutes.
7:00pm
Confidential information has been disclosed to the participants.
18 January 2019
11am-1pm
The 5th edition of the RMLNLU National Mediation Competition started with two workshops on developing Negotiation and Mediation skills. The first session on Negotiation and Conflict Resolution was conducted by Ms. Ishana Tripathi, a graduate of NALSAR, Hyderabad. She engaged the participants in three highly interactive case studies, with the objective of inculcating the importance of strategizing to a negotiator, by building an informed opinion and suggesting appropriate solutions at the right time. Her Workshop emphasized, “good advocacy is when your client feels like a winner.” While it is necessary to understand that negotiations are win-win, it is of paramount consideration during the conduct of the session that your client be fully-satisfied with the outcome.
2pm-4pm
The second workshop on Mediation and Conflict Resolution was held by Mr. Pascal Comvalius, an International Mediation Institute Certified mediator whose objectives were to help students communicate better, a skill required in every day life, since negotiations are a very integral part of living it. He sought to help students understand the important questions one must ask themselves and others, as a tool for self-reflection. He designed a questionnaire that was used as a tool to know oneself better and acknowledging the differences in how individuals approach conflict and deal with it. His session was replete with trust-building and simulation exercises.
5pm-6pm
The Organizing Committee and its members conducted the Inaugural Ceremony, graced by the Respected Vice Chancellor, Chairperson of Legal Aid Committee, Dr. Manish Singh and the Chief Guest, Prof. Dr. Ashok Patil, Director, Online Consumer Mediation Centre and Coordinator for Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC), NLSIU. The Competition was declared open by Coordinator, Legal Aid Committee RMLNLU, Dr. Prem Kumar Gautam.
6pm-8:30pm
An Orientation Session was conducted by Mr. Nisshant Laroia and Mr. Pitamber Yadav, to familiarize the participants with the format of the Competition. They found the session to be highly participatory, as all questions raised were based on experience and knowledge. The process of Mediation was discussed and the roles of both Mediators and Negotiators were evaluated in light of the marking scheme and a mock was conducted by RML students to familiarize participants. Match-ups were declared soon after. We look forward to a great start with both Preliminary Rounds scheduled for 10 am, 19 January 2019!
