The National Law Institute University’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Cell, which was constituted in 2007, has, since its inception, had the vision to disseminate knowledge relating to Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms and create a platform for like-minded and zealous individuals to come together to revolutionize the process of dispute settlement. NLIU Bhopal’s ADR Cell is the second oldest in the world, as well as the oldest in Asia, and it is the most active ADR cell among law schools in India. It primarily focuses on mediation and negotiation as against other available methods of alternative dispute resolution. In the past, the ADRC has collaborated with the International Academy of Dispute Resolution (INADR), The Negotiation Academy, the New York International Arbitration Centre, the Indian Bar Association, and Pine Law Partners, and has worked with notable luminaries such as Ms Meghann Sweeney and Mr Case H. Ellis.
With these stellar and revolutionary credentials, and its passion for mediation and negotiation, as well as its rich legacy, this lofty goal to disseminate knowledge and provide a platform to like-minded individuals, soon came to be a reality in 2012, with the Cell organizing Asia’s oldest as well as India’s largest mediation tournament in partnership with the International Academy of Dispute Resolution, the prestigious ‘NLIU-INADR International Mediation Tournament’. With each successive year, the tournament, now in its 11th edition, has witnessed growing participation from all National Law Universities as well as premier private law schools of the country, along with universities from the United States, Australia, and portions of Europe.
With this edition being the first edition to be offline since the pandemic, the Tournament has been awaited with much excitement and anticipation. It is finally here and the 11th NLIU-INADR International Mediation Tournament has officially kicked off with a bang, and the Tournament is declared open. The campus is ready to witness teams from all over the country and the world, participating enthusiastically in mediation rounds, livening up the atmosphere on campus and in our Academic Blocks, and the energy is buzzing with anticipation for the rounds, and the creative solutions and strategies invented by the participants.
The Tournament itself consists of five rounds and five problems. Each problem has been creatively drafted and has cleverly taken inspiration from real-life contemporary conflicts, framing the Tournament to be an excellent demonstration of how alternative dispute resolution methods can help resolve real conflicts with real people involved.
The first problem, assigned to the preliminary rounds, is between the Columbus Statue Committee and the Chicago Park District. The genesis of this issue between the parties is the removal of a nine-feet tall bronze statue intended to celebrate the discovery of America and Columbus himself being removed from Vernon Park, due to heated confrontations between police, rioters, protestors, and local community members, due to protestors and rioters targeting the statue. The Committee took offence to the statue not being returned for a year after initially being removed, despite the existence of a contract that barred changes to the statue or the plaza the statue was installed in, without the consent of the Columbus Statue Committee. The Committee thus filed suit against the Park District, and the judge assigned to the case appointed a mediator and ordered the parties to mediate.
The second problem is an interesting one and is between Tejus Singh and the Henny Penny Company. The Company is a joint venture between the Only Chicken Co., which operates 17,000 restaurants in the United States, and the Indian-based ABC-CO, with Only Chicken being the sole provider of its signature and well-known Mother Hen sauce, as well as chicken sandwich patties. The restaurants, called Chicken Little’s, only offer chicken options, with their slogan being “We do chicken right because that’s all we do!”. Mr Tejus, who brought home three sandwiches for his family, was shocked when his mother fell ill due to a seafood allergy, and later tests confirmed that she had fallen ill due to Chicken Little’s Mother Hen sauce. Mr Tejus’s mother then filed suit, and the defendant denied all allegations made. The court then assigned a mediator to the parties.
The third and final problem of the preliminary round is between two African countries, Egypt and Ethiopia, regarding the rights of Egypt as a downstream state of the Nile and Ethiopia as an upstream state. Egypt relies on the Nile for 93% of its water needs, and the building of a dam and subsequent filing of it will substantially affect Egypt, and create a water crisis. In 2011, however, Ethiopia began building the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), without notifying either of the downstream states of Egypt and Sudan, to which both reacted with protest. In March 2015, the three countries signed a ‘Declaration of Principles’ that would serve as the basis of future negotiations over the operation and filling of the GERD, and it asserted that cooperation between the three countries should be based on mutual understanding, common interest, the principles of international law, good intentions, and benefits for all. However, later, Ethiopia began acting unilaterally regarding the filling and operation of the Dam, to which Egypt took offence. To ensure the welfare of the people and the peace of the region, the two countries have appeared for mediation of the dispute.
The facts of the case allotted to the semi-finals are between a former player for Leets United Football Club, Tede Lassof, and the Club itself. The former player had filed a suit against the Club alleging that a former employee of the Club had sexually assaulted him and that the Club failed to investigate the allegations and failed to take any disciplinary action against the employee. The club, after an internal investigation, did admit it had notice of the allegations, and no action had been taken. The Club’s Solicitor suggested that the two parties turn to mediation, to which the player agreed. The dispute is now before a mediator is selected by the parties.
The dispute in the case of the matter in the final round of the Tournament has its origins in the removal of three statues of Christopher Columbus in Chicago which was the target of many protests, riots, and public outcry, after the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota. The two groups with conflicting views over the statues were the local Italian-American community and the Native American community. Soon, realizing that this could be a major political issue, the mayor of the city constituted a committee to study the situation and make recommendations. Both the local communities, however, finding that the committee’s report satisfied neither of them, banded together and created the Native American – Italian American coalition, or the NAIA. The NAIA then contacted the mayor’s office to negotiate amended recommendations, to which the mayor’s office agreed. The parties have selected a mediator and are now in mediation.
10 am, 4th November 2022- Registration
The NLIU INADR International Mediation Tournament has opened its gates to the participating teams. The Organising Committee is all decked up and ready to host them.
Commotion abounds in the corridors of the Convention Centre as the teams arrive for the registration, collect their respective folders, meticulously prepared by the registration team and move towards the auditorium for the opening ceremony that shall follow.
The halls of the JS Verma Memorial Convention Centre have begun to reverberate with excitement and anticipation as the teams line up to register. A day packed with learning and socializing awaits them.
12:15 pm, 4th November 2022- Training Session 1 (Role division and how to get out of deadlocks)
The first among the three training sessions lined up by the INADR to acquaint the novices as well as the experienced participants with the nuances that the mediation process entails has begun. The speaker, Mr Dennis Favarow, Managing Partner, Favaro and Gorman Ltd. welcomes the participants to the tournament and introduces the session that is to deal with the crucial facets of “Effective Advocacy at Mediation.”
He captures the essence of the process through his quip, “the methodology is not to beat anyone else but to collaborate together,” and proceeds to discuss the intricacies of the art of mediation. He delves into the theoretical aspects of mediation, discussing the various approaches to a session, highlighting the shortcomings of “positional bargaining” and positing “principled advocacy” as an effective alternative.
This is followed by a round of questions from the audience that is moderated by Mr John Lag, Board Member, INADR. Giving the session a slightly unexpected turn, the speaker quotes Mick Jagger and Keith Richards from the Rolling Stones:
“You can’t always get what you want, but, if you try sometimes, you find, you get what you need,” to illuminate the unpredictability of a mediation session and highlight the significance of a flexible approach.
The speaker concludes the session by urging the participants to enjoy the tournament and to view it as an opportunity to meet and understand new people, places and experiences.
2:15 pm, 4th November 2022- Training Session 2 (The art of purposeful mediation)
After a very enthusiasm-filled training session, the ardent participating teams take seats at the J.S. Verma Memorial Convention Center, after having a swift devour at the stalls placed at the foyer ground to attend the second of the third training session. The session starts with the welcome back by Mr Dennis. This session has more focus on the principles of a mediator. There is a further discussion of the effectiveness of mediation where parties organically decide to mediate disputes by choice as opposed to court-mandated mediation. The parties are explained by Mr John Lag about how they are supposed to not agree to some situations but rather understand how feasible it is for both the working parties to separate the person from the problem. He also quotes “sometimes losing is winning” in reference to how winning the case after a cumbersome process, a visceral experience for people is worse than a relatively poor deal without the same in mediation.
Some keywords that were discussed by Mr Lag for the mediators’ role were – “to listen, ask but don’t tell guide but don’t push, how to be patient, and concerned and show gratitude, also to be understanding, and show subtle empathy.”
The focus was then shifted by Mr Ethewald Mendes to the purpose of mediation as trying to find what they like, to make an acceptance without judgment, and to not give too much time to unnecessary information while redirecting anger towards resolution while using a passion for the right purpose. Mr Mendes also talked about common mistakes made by participants during competitions, that how parties in opening statements talk a lot, and how counsels add to it. He concludes by stating that the importance of listening skills is also listening to what is not being said. A metaphor being used for the role of mediator was how a mediator is supposed to bring an elephant into the room but properly otherwise one party sees the trunk other sees the tail.
4:15 pm, 4th November 2022- Training Session 3 (Panel discussion on tournament tips, rules and judges’ perspective)
The audience members have returned to their seats after a quick break for the last segment of the Mediation Training Sessions. The gavel has now been passed back to Mr Dennis. He enumerates the various approaches to skillfully concluding a mediation session. He delineates the monetary and temporal constraints associated with litigation suits and suggests concluding the session by making use of the “psychology of fear.”
He speaks about the role of a mediator in greater detail and lays specific emphasis on the significance of confidentiality. His years of experience are apparent from the stress he lays upon the need for mediators to build trust and maintain neutrality, qualities he terms “the focal points of mediation.” He briefly discussed “Bracketing” as a closing technique employed to break log jams and proposes alternatives such as the “what if” technique to overcome the shortcomings of the former. He concludes by correlating the success of mediation sessions with the dexterity of mediators.
The mic has now been passed to the judges, each of whom gives their views on the process of mediation and the evaluation criteria for the present tournament. A brief discussion over the common mistakes ensues. Mr Krusch P Anthony shares anecdotes from his experience at several competitions, providing the audience with much valuable insight. The judge’s perspectives are followed by a brief discussion of the rules and tips for the participants. The audience is, once again, engaged with questions addressed to the panel, the session ends with Mr John Lag’s concluding address and a brief break shall be followed by the most anticipated event of the day, the opening ceremony.
6:00 pm, 4th November 2022- Opening Ceremony
The most awaited moment is here! The opening ceremony for the 11th INADR has been kickstarted by lighting the lamp by our guests and honourable Vice-Chancellor. The event is happening offline after a considerable amount of time, with which everyone would agree is a much better experience than the one we had on our 13-inch screens. The VC congratulated everyone on the occasion and continued with a heartfelt address from each of our guests. INADR president, Ms Elena Koltsaki joined us online and addressed the participants. Legal luminary John Lag, who is also a seasoned mediator along with Dennis Favaro, Partner and Managing Partner at Arwaro and Govt. Ltd, joined us offline. Our core cell member Tejas Hinder graced the dais and highlighted the efforts that had gone into the preparation of the event. Our honourable VC introduced the core cell members and reiterated the legacy of the event which has been carried on for 11 years. He then referred to 11 years back when NLIU, Bhopal became the first institution to organise an International Mediation Competition. The ceremony was a huge success and participants are very excited about the coming events.
9:00 am, 5th November 2022- Release of Confidential Facts and Judge Briefing for Round 1
Day 2 of the 11th NLIU-INADR International Mediation Tournament begins with hustling around the NLIU campus early in the morning with 15 rooms set up for 30 teams for the preliminary rounds. With the confidential information being released, an atmosphere of eagerness and elation is building among everyone.
This was followed by the judge briefing session wherein, the judges were made aware of the facts of the problem as well as the judging criteria.
10:00 am, 5th November 2022- Round 1
After releasing confidential information, the judges and participants headed to their allotted mediation rooms to get seated. The first round starts with the preliminary problem named “Should I stay or should I go?” in Columbus Statue Committee v. Chicago Park District, where the committee filed a suit against the park district regarding the removal of a nine-foot-tall bronze statue that was created to commemorate the discovery of America and Columbus.
After a quick brief in the mediation rooms, the mediators and client-counsel start the round with a quick introduction and exchanging pleasantries. The mediators begin to acknowledge the client and the counsellors by welcoming them as well as the judges. They begin by asking a few questions, like if they have been in mediation before, and explaining to them the rules of mediation.
The counsels for both sides appreciate the mediators for starting the mediation process and expressing hope that a resolution can be reached. There was then the setting up of an agenda by both parties, which was then summarised by the mediators to simplify it for both parties, and the judges. After explaining and talking through the problem, it was noted in Mediation Room 7 that both the responding and requesting side opted for a quick caucus and resuming back to their mediation and so was noted in Mediation Room 6 where requesting party too called for caucus and counsel of the responding party explaining their client’s position. The option of the caucus was opted for by many teams throughout the rooms of the Legal Aid Clinic, Academic Blocks 1 and 2, and Gyan Mandir where the mediation rounds were taking place.
The halls of the Legal Aid Clinic were buzzing with consideration and analysis among the teams to swiftly reach a favourable settlement. The judges after observing the rounds begin to mark the score sheets of the respective teams and gave them feedback. Throughout the 15 rooms of NLIU and 15 negotiations, it was noted how some teams exited the room with a satisfaction of a favourable outcome but what common thing every party carried along with them, if not a favourable response, was feedback that will help them upgrade in their upcoming rounds and future competition. The lively atmosphere was then shifted to the guest house where the lunch was organised.
1:00 pm, 5th November- Release of Confidential Facts and Judge Briefing for Round 2
And the rounds continue, with round 1 being successfully conducted, round 2 was a smooth process as well. Participants remain enthusiastic and excited about the competition.
With the confidential information being released everyone is on their tips to compete and do good in the competition. Confidential information is a set of facts provided to both the requesting and defending parties, given a little before the actual round which they can use in their favour. Our esteemed judges are briefed about the same.
2:00 pm, 5th November 2022- Round 2
The second problem revolves around a dispute between Mr Tejus Singh and the Henny Penny company. Here Mr Tejus Singh is the requesting party. Mr Tejus is troubled by the sandwiches by Chicken Little which contained Hen Sauce, which caused health issues for Mr Tejus’s mother. The defendant then denied all the allegations. The second problem really is food for thought!
Client-counsel pairs remain seated with the fervour to amicably arrive at a solution beneficial to both parties. With our mediators and esteemed judges here, the awaited round begins!
The mediators started off by explaining the ground rules of mediation and how mediation is a beneficial process for both parties. One of the mediators gave an impressive analogy that the process is like mining through a cave and finding a diamond, parties may have trust issues but towards the end, they might arrive at an amicable solution. Mr Tejus’s mother started by telling the defendant’s side the agony she is facing and how the whole debacle has affected her both mentally and physically. The Henny Penny company was deeply appreciative of the agony she has been through.
The round ended with parties amicably arriving at solutions. Judges scored the teams and gave them fruitful feedback.
4:00 pm, 5th November- Release of Confidential Facts and Judge Briefing for Round 3
With two rounds of relentless negotiation and bouts of heated discussions behind them, the participants await the release of the last confidential information for the day. The responding parties have moved to the ground floor of the Academic Block while the requesting parties have moved to the first floor. With the stakes high, we cannot risk them exchanging their information now, can we?
5:00 pm, 5th November 2022- Round 3
The speakers have taken their seats in their respective Mediation Rooms. The mediators, having discussed the course of the session that is to follow amongst themselves, start with their opening speeches, treading carefully, for the proposition for this round is no cakewalk, it concerns the waters and sovereign authority of nations after all.
The clients representing the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Arab Republic of Egypt raise the primary concerns that confront their nation in the light of the dispute with one of the clients terming the Ethiopian endeavours, “a breach of trust.” Similar allegations are thrown around across Mediation Rooms, putting to test the patience and deftness of the Mediators. Demands have been raised and are being negotiated upon, several clients representing the Arab Republic of Egypt have called for a more inclusive decision-making process while their Ethiopian counterparts have highlighted the need for economic development in the Horn of Africa.
With myriad issues raised, caucuses called and solutions deliberated upon, the ultimate session of the day, along with the Preliminary Rounds, has come to an end. The results will be out any minute, now. As the restlessness mounts, the next scheduled event for the day, “the social night” is just the break our participants need!
10:00 pm, 5th November 2022- Dinner and Social Event
The Social Night was organized for all the participants, wherein they got the much-awaited opportunity to network. They unwinded and are now rejuvenated to put their foot forward for the advanced rounds.
The results for the advanced rounds were also declared in the Social Night itself. The following teams have made it to the Semi-finals in the “Mediator” and “Client-Counseling” Segments respectively-
Mediator Category
T31: NUJS
T16: GLC MUMBAI
T13: SLS HYD
T30: NIRMA
Client-Counsel Pair
T15: OP JINDAL
T4: NALSAR
T31: NUJS
T26: NLUJ
The Semi-finals would commence at 9:00 am tomorrow, the organizers wished the qualifying teams luck.
9:00 am, 6th November- Release of Confidential Facts and Judge Briefing for Semi-Finals
The semi-Finals are finally here! Teams have competed tirelessly and with the best of their efforts to get here. Congratulations to NUJS, GLC Mumbai, SLS Hydrabad and Nirma for making it into the mediator category and OP Jindal, Nalsar, NUJS and NLUJ for qualifying in the client-counsel pair. Participants await patiently for their rounds while our esteemed judges are briefed for the competition. Confidential information has been handed out to the participants about an hour before the round. Participants are excited to compete in the rounds.
10:00 am, 6th November- Semi-Final 1, Court Room 1 (T 31 v. T 26)
Mr Krusch P Anthony, Mr Dennis Favaro, Ms Kavita Bhatia and Mr Siddharth Singh are going to be the judges for this round. With our esteemed judges here, gracing us with their presence and participants seated, the awaited round begins!
The problem of this round revolves around a former player of the Leets United Football Club, Mr Ted and how he was sexually assaulted by a former employee of the club and the club did nothing about it. The club, later on, requested a mediation proceeding when all this was brought to its notice to which the player agreed. The parties are now at the table to discuss the same.
The club highlighted its sorrow and conscience on the happening of a string of events and Mr Ted iterated how all this has affected him. Both the requesting and responding parties were very sensitive about this situation and our mediators made sure to make this environment a comfortable one for Mr Ted. The parties after discussing their respective situations started talking about their interests to arrive at an amicable solution. Mr Ted signified that compensation is in his interest for both tangible and intangible losses and the club agreed to consider that, the amount was later on negotiated. Other interests like firing the employee in question, a public apology by the club, a fund by the club for victims of sexual assault and sexual assault redressal within the club for the people associated were discussed. Negotiation for all these interests was done amicably and kept the gravity of the situation in mind.
After the parties felt they were facing an impasse, a private session was called by the responding party, Mr Ted, wherein he discussed his interests with the mediators. The requesting parties also discussed their concerns in their private session.
The caucus resulted in a fruitful one with the parties being able to express their concerns in private. With the round coming to an end the solutions arrived at were reiterated by the mediators and everyone thanked each other for the session. This round was really an interesting one! Our diligent judges scored the teams and gave them valuable feedback.
Best of luck to the participants for the results!
10:00 am, 6th November- Semi-Final 2, Court Room 2 (T 15 v. T 04)
In the mediation room, two client-counsel pairs, T15 (OP JINDAL) and T4 (NALSAR), and two mediator pairs, T31 (NUJS) and T30 (NIRMA), were seated and judged. The teams quickly greeted each other and started the round with their opening statements, where the mediators mentioned how confidentiality is key. They also laid out some ground rules for the session, like how the parties should not interrupt each other.
The responding party’s client began to explain their situation, explaining how the harassment that took place caused them emotional distress that led to financial distress because the therapy he had to attend to recover from trauma cost him thousands of dollars. But despite everything, they mentioned that they have hope for a fruitful resolution. There was then the setting up of an agenda by both parties, which was summarised by the mediator on the whiteboard so that it could be visible to both parties.
The mediator also asked both the responding and requesting parties what agenda they would like to prioritise and discuss, with the responding party choosing to discuss financial compensation followed by a public apology from Leets United Football Club. There were also multiple concerns, one of which was how the employee who harassed the responding side client still stayed in the club irrespective of what they did to him. After an intense discussion, one of the mediators offered the responding side a private discussion, which they opted for, leading to a private caucus, while the other mediators asked the responding party what solutions they wanted to achieve.
After the private caucus, the counsel of the responding party asked for a guarantee that their client wouldn’t be fired again, and a discussion led to a contract for 7 years of employment. There was also a mention of how Leets United Football Club should collaborate with an organisation that deals with workplace harassment. After a fruitful round of mediation, there was a request for future mediation to take place to discuss the topic of a public apology.
The end of mediation took place when everyone made their closing statements and exited the room, after which the judges evaluated for 15 minutes and gave another 15 for feedback.
1:15 pm, 6th November 2022- Results of Semi-Finals announced!
The results of the Semi-finals have been announced. The following teams have made it to the finals-
Client-Counsel Pair-
T4: NALSAR
T31: NUJS
Mediator Category-
T13: SLS HYD
T30: NIRMA
Congratulations to the finalists! The Grand Finale is to begin shortly.
1:30 pm, 6th November 2022- Release of Confidential Facts and Judge Briefing for the Finals
The judges, the client-counsel pairs, and both the mediators are here for the final time in the tournament after a quick lunch break. The final round is scheduled to take place in the Justice J.S. Verma Memorial Convention Centre. The judges are briefed about the facts and the judging criteria, and confidential information is revealed to the parties.
2:30 pm, 6th November 2022- Finals (T 4 v. T31)
The Grand Finale begins! T31 (NUJS) takes the “Requesting side” and T4 (NALSAR) takes the “Responding side”.
The problem for the final round revolved around the dispute involving the removal of three statutes of Christopher Columbus in Chicago after the protests relating to the George Floyd incident took place. The mayor’s office was contacted and there was a call for negotiation.
Considering the sensitive nature of the dispute, the parties ensured that they negotiated responsibly and in good faith.
The teams start the session with their Opening Statements, in which, the Requesting Party mention their love for statutes and monuments, and how they are open to reaching an amicable solution. The first aspect that they begin to discuss was the renaming of the streets, followed by the summary of agendas.
The agendas, mutually agreed upon by the parties, mainly focused on the removal of the Columbus Statute and Renaming the streets, after which, there was a clarification from Requesting side. Then one of the mediators went up to the Board present in the room and wrote the agendas agreed upon for everyone’s convenience, this was followed by a discussion relating to the communal sentiments of both, native and African Americans. Subsequently, both parties mutually discussed the intention to protect heritage.
The discussion kept revolving around the removal of the statues and the consequent problems of water shortage, the statute being the only source of drinking water, alternatives such as the installation of the statue of an African-American leader, or the installation of a water fountain in place of the statue, were also discussed.
To divulge some sensitive information to the Mediator, a caucus was called by the Responding Party wherein they discussed their concerns under an added layer of confidentiality. This was followed by the Closing Statements from both parties.
The session ends and everyone awaits the results, which will be declared shortly.
6:00 pm, 6th November 2022- Awards and Valedictory Ceremony
The most exciting evening of the event is here and is about to commence. The speaker, Prachi Chowdhary introduces the dignitaries seated at the dais, Dr.(Prof.) V. Vijaykumar, Vice Chancellor, NLIU, Mr. John Lag, Board Member, INADR, Mr. Dennis Favaro, Managing Director, Favaro and Gorman Ltd., , Mr Vivek Tanwar, Founder, Law Offices of Kr. Vivek Tanwar Advocates and Associates, Mr Uday Pratap Singh, Registrar, NLIU and Ms Neha Sharma, Faculty Coordinator, Alternative Dispute Resolution Cell, NLIU and invite the Vice Chancellor, Mr V Vijaykumar to present the text of the Constitution to the dignitaries as a symbol of gratitude for their support.
The speaker proceeds to thank the dignitaries for their unfaltering patience throughout the tournament and invites them to share their experiences of the tournament and the participants.
First up is Dr V. Vijaykumar, who extends his heartfelt gratitude towards the dignitaries and the entire panel of judges for contributing towards the success of the 11th edition of the NLIU- INADR International Mediation Tournament. This is followed by the felicitation of the judges constituting the adjudicatory panel by the Registrar. The following speakers commend the brilliant performances and adroitness of the participants and the organising team.
On behalf of the INADR, Mr John Lag and Mr Dennis Favaro, express their elation at their association with the tournament and reiterate the mission statement of the INADR, also calling upon the spectators to join their Academy in pursuit of advancing the same.
The awards for the competition are as follows-
Winner Negotiating Team- National University of Juridical Sciences, West Bengal (Sachin Garg, Ajinkya Ghoratkar, Farzeen Ajmal Khan)
Runner-Up Negotiating Team- National Academy of Legal Studies and Research, Hyderabad ((Yash Agrawal, Samriddhi Shenoy, Niyathi M Devalapalli)
Winner Mediator Team- Institute of Law, Nirma University (Harshvardhan Singh Rathore, Atulit Raj, Ojaswini Singh)
Runner-Up Mediator Team- Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad (Mahek Bhojwani, Sanjana S, Varnika Manual)
With that, our journey with the 11th edition of the tournament has, as all good things must, come to an end. The spirits of the spectators present at the auditorium, however, are as high as ever. They have experienced a tournament that they shall cherish for years to come, and to borrow words from Mr John Lag, the “peace-making skills that they’ve acquired” through this tournament shall only continue to grow hereon.