ILS Centre for Arbitration and Mediation (ILSCA) successfully conducted the 4th National Mediation Competition, INTERCESSIONIS 2021, from 5-7th March 2021, in association with ADR ODR International. It was also supported by SCC Online and Eastern Book Company (EBC), SAMA and CAMP. Recognising the growing sphere of ODR, the competition was held online this year.
16 teams from all across India participated in the competition, putting their best foot forward, mediating on well drafted Mediation propositions drafted by industry experts.
The first day, 5th March 2021, saw a day long workshop conducted by Mr Jawad AJ, a global faculty for India and Digital Dispute Resolution specialist at ADR ODR International. The workshop covered the basics of mediation and negotiation, which gave the participants an insight into the intricacies of the process as well as prepared the participants for the competitive rounds to be held in the following 2 days.
The competitive rounds began on the second day, 6th March 2021. The 2 Preliminary Rounds and Quarter Final Round were held on this day. All the 16 teams completed in the Preliminary Rounds, while 8 out of these proceeded to the Quarterfinal Round. All the 3 rounds were judged by International experts (from ADR ODR International) as well as luminaries in the field of Mediation in India.
The Semi-final and Final Rounds conducted on 7th March 2021 saw 4 teams and 2 teams respectively.
The Final Round was judged by Mr Prathamesh Popat, a distinguished Mediator and Founder of Prachi Mediation Chambers, Mumbai; Ms Pooja Kannurkar, a Civil and Commercial Mediator from ADR ODR International and Research Associate at ILSCA; and Ms Anupama Ahluwalia, an accredited Mediator in the US and India and an empanelled Mediator with the Supreme Court of India.
After 2 days of gruelling rounds, Pradyuman Singh and Sanjeet Aggarwal from the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR) University of Law, Hyderabad took home the Winning prize in the Negotiating Segment while the winner in the Meditating Segment was Mrinali Dave from Tamil Nadu National Law University (TNLU), Tiruchirapalli.
Rishika Pandey and Anush Joshi from Jindal Global Law School, Sonepat finished as the runners up in the Negotiating Segment while Mukut Choudhary from School of Law, UPES, Dehradun was the Runner up in the Mediating Segment.
The Winning Negotiating Team took home a cash prize of ₹12000, a subscription of SCC Online, a discount voucher from ADR ODR for their Civil/Commercial Mediation training, and an internship at SAMA.
The Winning Mediator received a cash prize of ₹ 6000, a subscription of SCC Online, a discount voucher from ADR ODR for their Civil/Commercial Mediation Training and an internship at SAMA.
The Runners-up Negotiating Team was awarded a cash prize of ₹ 8,000, a subscription of EBC and an internship at CAMP. Runners-up Mediator received a cash prize of ₹ 4,000 a subscription of EBC and an internship at CAMP.
The event ended with the Valedictory Ceremony and a Vote of Thanks by Ms Pooja Kannurkar.