The Journal Committee at Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National University, Lucknow, in collaboration with Centre for Trade and Investment Law, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade is organising RMLNLU- CTIL Conference on International Trade Law (7th RMLNLU International Legal Essay Writing Competition) on February 02, 2020.
THEMES:
- Policy Proposals for Export-Led Growth in Compliance with WTO Law
Exports continue to be a significant part of the virtuous cycle of growth required to propel India to become a 5 trillion USD economy. This emphasis on export-led growth has manifested itself in many government policies such as the “Make in India” initiative as well as other “buy-local” provisions which stipulate local content requirements in government procurement. However, schemes which incentivise exports need to be consistent with India’s obligations as a member of the World Trade Organization (“WTO”). India’s measures have been and continue to be susceptible to challenges in the binding, automatic and rule-based Dispute Settlement system of the WTO. For instance, the terms of National Solar Mission, by which India had imposed a local content requirement on solar companies as a prerequisite for benefitting from the program, were held to violate the National Treatment Principle of the GATT 1994.
Formulating innovate WTO-compliant solutions to incentivise Indian manufacturing is the need of the hour. In this context, participants are invited to formulate and suggest broad contours of Indian policies which can help India achieve the goal of export-led economic growth. Essays can explore the experience of other WTO Members who have been successful in fostering pioneering industries in compliance with WTO Agreements and the application of such policies to India. Further, essays can critically analyse current Indian policies and suggest modifications to ensure WTO-consistency which would not, ideally, compromise the incentives provided to a domestic industry. Essays which successfully synthesise legal analysis with the experience of domestic industries in various sectors will be preferred. To this end, multi-disciplinary approaches are encouraged but are not a necessity. Participants are encouraged to consider the entire gamut of regulations of the WTO, including rules on goods, subsidies, trade-related investment measures and technical standards.
- Legal Dimensions of Agrarian Distress and International Economic Law
Agrarian distress has proven to be a persistent policy conundrum for the Government of India. The provisional data with the National Crime Records Bureau shows that 11,370 farmers committed suicides in the year 2016. In response to the public outcry, the Government has not released any data subsequently. Agrarian distress is a multi-faceted problem caused primarily due to lack of remunerative prices, poor rural infrastructure, absence of logistical support and regulatory restrictions on the free movement of agricultural goods.
Unfortunately, the range of policy options that the Government of India can utilise is limited by the stringent conditions of the WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture (“AoA”). The AoA limits the quantum of price support that can be provided by India and allows certain classes of domestic support. As India heralds into an age where it has achieved food security, the time has come to re-think the policy prescriptions for agriculture so that there can be a renewed focus on livelihood security of Indian farmers. This re-alignment is also incentivised by external factors. Indian agricultural policies have been under at the WTO, in terms of disputes which have been initiated as well as counter-notifications in the Committee of Agriculture. Further, depleting ground water levels and the resource-intensive nature of Indian agriculture have raised serious environmental concerns regarding the sustainability of Indian agricultural practices.
Early signs of change in policy by the Government are the emphasis in direct benefit transfer to Indian farmers as well as NITI-Aayog, India’s premier research organisation, suggesting that archaic legislation which limit stocking and selling of agricultural products be repealed. At a broader level, the role of the government in fixing the price of many agricultural staples is being questioned due to market inefficiencies. In this context, participants are invited to formulate and suggest modifications to the current prevailing agricultural policies to meet challenges such as livelihood security of Indian farmers as well as climate change. Essays can treat policy recommendations of international organisation and think-tanks such as the Food and Agricultural Organization and the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations as an inflection point for further analysis. Further, participants can analyse the policies adopted by other WTO Members to boost agricultural production in compliance with WTO. Scholars are also encouraged to look beyond the covered agreements of the WTO to explore other international legal norms which may be relevant to Indian agricultural policy. Alternatively, essays can also choose to critique existing regulations governing Indian agriculture in light of India’s commitments under international law. Essays which ground their analysis on specific prevailing realities of Indian agriculture will be preferred over essays which provide broad and over-arching recommendations.
ELIGIBILITY
Authors must be pursuing their 5-year integrated LL.B. (Hons.) course / 3-year LL.B. course / LL.M. from any recognised university in India and equivalent undergraduate law degree, abroad for the academic year of 2019-2020, to be eligible to participate in the Competition.
STRUCTURE
All entries will be judged and ranked by the Centre for Trade and Investment Law and Journal Committee. A maximum of five entries will be selected after an intense review procedure for presenting their essays in the conference. The participants may adopt any suitable means for presenting the papers including audio-visual aids, such as PowerPoint presentation.
The selected entries shall be published in the RMLNLU Law Review Blog. The top three essays will be conferred with rewards.
PARTICIPATION GUIDELINES
- Co-authorship of entries (maximum two) among individuals from the same or different institutions is allowed.
- Multiple entries for same authors are not allowed.
- A participant may submit an entry related to ONE sub-theme ONLY. One may not juxtapose sub-themes in an entry
- Entries should be original, unpublished and non-plagiarised.
Note: Authors whose papers are selected for presentation in the conference shall be required to pay an amount INR 750 for single author entries and INR 1000 for co-authored entries.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
- Word Limit: 4000-5000 words (excluding footnotes).
- Individual Attachments: Name; contact details; current academic status (Year, University etc.); undertaking as to guarantee of originality
- Formatting specifications:
- Font and size for the essay: Times New Roman | 12
- Font and size for footnotes: Times New Roman | 10
- Line spacing: 1.5
- Citation Style: Uniform style of citation should be followed throughout the essay.
- The file name must consist only of the author’s name.
- Entries should be emailed to rilec.rmlnlu@gmail.com under the subject title “Entry for 7th RILEC – [Name(s) of Author(s)]” in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) format.
- The last date for the submission of soft copies is 17th November, 2019.
MISCELLANEOUS RULES
- The copyright for all entries shall vest with the organisers who herewith reserve the right to modify, postpone or defer the competition and its adjudication indefinitely as and when exigencies of an unforeseen nature may arise.
- Any attempt, direct or indirect, to contact the panel of judges will be met with the immediate disqualification of the relevant entry.
- Any indication of author’s name or university in the entry shall lead to immediate disqualification from the competition.
PRIZES
- Winner – INR 15,000
- First Runner Up – INR 10,000
- Second Runner Up – INR 5,000
Top three entries will be receiving a ‘certificate of achievement’ and an opportunity to intern at Centre for Trade and Investment Law, New Delhi.
A ‘certificate of merit’ shall be provided to the selected entries.
Selected entries will be published on ‘The RMLNLU Law Review Blog’.
All participants shall be receiving a ‘certificate of participation’.
CONTACT
- Write us at rilec.rmlnlu@gmail.com or prakhar.ctil@iift.edu in case of queries.
- You may also reach us through the phone.
- Parimal Kashyap: +91 7048906930
- Ahkam Khan: +91 8957771066
- Anmol Adhrit: +91 8825314318
Click here to know more about the competition.
Click here to read the brochure of the competition.
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