The Moot Court Society (“MCS”) of SVKMs Pravin Gandhi College of Law organized 2nd
PGCL SAARC International Moot Court Competition, 2022 amidst such unprecedented times on
the virtual platform of MS Teams through the span of four days beginning from 10 th February
2021 to 13 th February 2021.
Our knowledge partner for the event was MZM Legal. They drafted the proposition based on
Public International Law which pertained to the theme of Humanitarian Refugee Crisis. A total
of 18 teams participated in the Competition from various National and International Universities.
A Training Session was conducted on 6 th February, 2022 for the participants as well as the
students of our college to familiarize them with the different aspects of mooting and train them
for the Competition. The session focused on quintessential aspects of International Moots
covering topics like legal research, articulation of arguments, etc. The Facilitator for the session
was Professor Dhwani Mainkar who is a Tax Lawyer, Lecturer and Assistant Dean, Office of
Academic Affairs.
UBR Legal Advocates and Vakeel’s Associated were the Associate Partners of the Competition,
in addition Manupatra and LawSkills were the Online Research Partners.
On 9 th February 2022, the inaugural ceremony for the 2 nd PGCL SAARC International Moot
Court Competition took place. It was graced by our guest of honour, Professor Dilip Mohite
(Dean, Faculty of Arts, Head, Coordinator for Ford and UGC prog. for International Relations,
pol. Theory and Public Administration Arts, M.S. University of Baroda). The ceremony was
made undeniably engaging by our honorable principal Dr. Navashikha Duara and by the faculty
incharge Dr. Geeta Kubsad who shared her point of view with regards to the event. The
Explanation of the Competition Rules was done by Ms. Nitisha Makharia. The session
concluded with the Vote of Thanks by Ms. Rashi Priya.
The Preliminary rounds took place in two slots. On 10 th February 2022 Preliminary Round 1 Slot
1 took place from 09:00 AM to 11:00 AM and Slot 2 took place from 01:00 PM to 03:00 PM
followed by, Preliminary Round 2 that took place on 11 th February 2022 in the same manner.
The 12 th February 2022 saw the Quarter Finals in which 8 teams in 4 virtual courtrooms
competed against each other to secure their position in the Semi Finals. Round 1 of Quarter
Finals took place from 09:00 AM to 11:00 AM followed by Round 2 from 12:00 PM to 02:00
PM.
The top 4 teams were notified and the Semi-Finals of the competition began in the other half of
the day, which was a nerve-wracking event, as we had remarkable judges who made sure the
participants knew their case well. Round 1 of Semi-Finals was from 03:30 PM to 05:30 PM and
Round 2 began from 06:00 PM and finished by 08:00 PM. After presenting a scintillating
performance before the bench, finally, 2 of the best teams proceeded for the Final Rounds.
The Competition was a little unique than the other moot court competitions, in a way that, in
every round of the Competition, the qualifying teams had to argue from both sides. Even in the
Final Rounds, the Finalists presented their case once as the Prosecution in Final Round 1 and as
the Defendant in Final Round 2.
The most awaited Finals were conducted on the 13th September, 2022 which was undoubtedly
monumental as we were graced by the presence of Mr. Shashi Prakash Singh (Additional
Solicitor General of India, Allahabad High Court), Mr. Vikramjit Banerjee (Additional Solicitor
General of India), Mr. Pradeep Rai (Senior Advocate & Vice President, Supreme Court Bar
Association), Mr. Chinmoy Sharma (Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India) and Mr.
Waseem Pangarkar (Senior Partner, MZM Legal LLP), in Round 1, conducted from 11:00 AM
to 01:00 PM.
For Final Round 2 the bench comprised of Mr. Pravin Parekh (Padma Shri, Senior Advocate &
President, The Indian Society of International Law), Mr. M.B. Nargund (Additional Solicitor
General of India, Karnataka High Court), Mr. Ashok Mehta (Former Additional Solicitor
General of India, Allahabad High Court), Ms. Geeta Luthra (Senior Advocate, Supreme Court
of India) and Mr. Parvez Menon (Senior Partner, MZM Legal LLP.) and was conducted from
01:30 PM to 03:30 PM.
It was an absolute treat watching the two teams fiercely fight using their application of law and
quick-witted replies to the questions posed by the judges to win the title of the best team of the
competition.
Lastly, The Valedictory Ceremony was conducted at 04:00 PM where the judges enlightened us
by sharing their journeys, experiences, and anecdotes of their lives and were so generous with
their time. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the Judges for sharing very helpful insights
with the Participants. Finally, Mr. Amit Padwal, gave a vote of thanks and with the declaration of
results, the curtains were drawn for the 2nd PGCL SAARC International Moot Court
Competition, 2022.