Professional Documents
Culture Documents
PRESENTS TO YOU
CONTENTS
1. OFFICIAL INVITE
2. MOOT PROPOSITION
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4. TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
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5. ORGANISING COMMITTEE
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OFFICIAL INVITE
We warmly welcome you to the 9th Edition of the Pro Bono Enviro National Moot Court
Competition, 2015. It is the flagship event for our Institution and we aim towards only object
getting better by the year. The Moot is based on domestic Environmental Law and is intended to
create awareness among the student body regarding pressing environmental issues. Year after
year the competition has witnessed an overwhelming response from various Universities and
Colleges throughout India and this year too, we promise an exciting weekend of debate,
discussion and display of legal acumen. The Competition this year will see sitting Judges of the
Madras High Court, and Advocates and Specialists in the field that will ensure that the Rounds
are judged with even more vigor and enthusiasm than the past years of Pro Bono.
The last edition was a grand success. This year with the constitution of an even more enthusiastic
Organising Committee we promise for it to only be better. The previous year, more than 30 law
institutions from different parts of India participated in the Moot, and we expect this number to
only increase this year. The 9th Pro Bono Enviro National Moot Court Competition, 2015 is
scheduled from 30th October 1st November, 2015. The Moot Court Association of School of
Excellence in Law, Chennai cordially invites your prestigious institution to participate in the
same. We look forward to seeing you this October!
With Regards,
The Organising Committee
MOOT PROPOSITION1
1. The Republic of Minas Tirith is the worlds third most populous country with a population of
more than 1.1 billion. It is located centrally on Earth with everything a nation could ask for from
nature. The country is rich in mineral ores which include magnetite, steel, coal and magnate. The
country has an area of 3,287,590 sq. km. Minas Tirith has signed all the major international
conventions and treaties relating to environmental law until the present date but has ratified only
those conventions and treaties that were entered into until the completion of the year 2003.
2. Natural resources are found throughout the country at varied levels. In the State of East
Pradesh which has a coastline of 1,000 km, the natural resources including iron ore and coal are
found in abundance. This is the largest State in the country and is located on the eastern coast.
Around 40% of the States population consists of tribal people who have been living in the
forests and other parts of the State since time immemorial. The States oldest literary work called
Eastory speaks about this tribal population with great importance. This is dated to be at least
3,000 years old. The main occupation of the tribal people is agriculture and hunting in the forest
region, and handicrafts and handiworks in the neighboring city. Mr. Gandalf is the leader of the
tribal people who have always fought for their rights and upliftment.
3. The Central Government of the Republic of Minas Tirith was elected through the general
elections in May 2015. The main agenda of the Government was to increase the economic
development and provide job opportunities. True to its word, the Government has taken several
measures to bring in foreign investment and develop several public and private sector areas
including mining. The Government decided to lease out the mines to increase its GDP and
industrial growth. This also ensures that the Government has acquired enough iron for military
purposes, in which the country is lacking. There is an economic depression throughout the world
and the country needs to keep itself afloat in the sinking world market. With the approval of the
Cabinet, the Government has notified the New Mining Deal, 2015 which is its master plan on
mining. Subsequent to the plan, it had auctioned iron mines in blocks to several foreign mining
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The Moot Proposition has been drafted by Mr. Diwaagar R.S., currently a Legal Intern at the City of New York
Business Integrity Commission, New York and an alumnus of School of Excellence in Law, Chennai (2012). Any
attempts to contact him shall result in immediate disqualification of the participating team.
4. The Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) gave the clearance for mining activities.
However, as commonly known, it is not without corruption. The MoEF followed procedural
requirements and all the required assessments were carried out before granting the license. The
State of East Pradesh was not consulted in the entire process by the Central Government or by
the Company. There was no assessment by the State Environmental Impact Assessment Agency
(SEIAA) or by the Pollution Control Board (PCB). At this point in time the Government in the
State of East Pradesh belonged to the same party as that of Central Government. The State
Government raised no issues about it. The Chief Minister participated in the opening ceremony
of the mining activities and thanked the Central Government for its quicker implementation.
5. Marvolo is a world leader in mining from a western country called District 12. They mine in
more than 25 countries. In about 13 countries they have been accused of violating their licenses.
They have also been alleged of being responsible for careless mining and displacement of the
tribal people in those countries. All of these are strong allegations but have never been proved.
They admitted at some instances to have used inferior technology and methods in mining than
the advanced one available.
6. In East Pradesh, Marvolos license was restricted to iron blocks A, B and C. There are other
blocks D, E and F which were not licensed and were to be left untouched. It is believed that
mining these unlicensed blocks may cause a huge environmental hazard to the local population
and also affect the existence of the forest. The mining in the blocks A, B and C was also
permitted only upto a depth of 100 feet. The major concentration of the tribal people is in and
around these mines. There is a huge forest known as The Burrow which covers half of the mine
and runs beyond the boundary of the State. This is the greatest forest reserve the State and the
country have. It houses several precious animals which are on the verge of extinction. Seasonal
birds are known to migrate here from foreign countries. There is also a river running along the
outer edge and within The Burrow which is the only source of clean water to the whole State.
7. Marvolo mined in blocks A, B and D. They left C untouched. This was only identified by a
news reporters secret investigation. The report further alleged that they have mined more than
125 feet in the said blocks. This created a huge controversy in the State. Meanwhile, it was
observed that the tigers in the forest had reduced by 20% in the last 2 months and that the
migratory birds which were to arrive in the particular season were not seen. There were only
10% of the regularly visiting migratory birds. The river water was polluted with all the mining
wastes which could have been avoided if a better technology had been used. The tribal people
started relocating as their habitat was now changed. There was increase in air pollution and soil
erosion. More importantly thousands of workers and other people who visited the area started
intruding into the peaceful living of the tribal people. Deforestation of a huge area of the forest
was also seen. However, the deforestation is expected to have happened during mining activities
and was not against the licenses. The new reports are unclear if these were the results of alleged
illegal mining in block D.
8. The matter was discussed politically. Mr. Percival Brian who was an independent candidate
campaigning for the elections filed a PIL before the High Court of East Pradesh against the
whole mining activity and sought a criminal case against Marvolo for violations. The Court had
doubts on the locus standi and the jurisdiction for the PIL. However, the court ordered SEIAA to
conduct an investigation and file a report of the status.
9. The SEIAA took only 2 days to investigate and held a press conference wherein it was
informed that more than 100 feet was mined. Block D was mined violating the license and its
investigation was not sufficient to see if the block D mining resulted in environmental changes. It
also categorically announced that the license should not have been granted to any of these
mining blocks as they critically affect the tribal population and the environment. The Agency
also conceded that an environmental impact assessment before the beginning of license would
have prevented such problems. However, this report was not filed in the appropriate High Court
as it was a weekend.
11. Aggrieved by this and the High Court PIL, Marvolo decided to approach the Supreme Court
of Minas Tirith. It raised the following issues:
a. The NGT does not have suo motu powers and hence its orders are unconstitutional.
b. The PIL petitioner has a vested interest and he is expected to contest in the elections.
Hence he does not have the locus standi to file a PIL.
c. A criminal case registration cannot be initiated through a PIL.
12. The Supreme Court found this matter to be of great importance and decided to take the main
case and decide it with finality. It had thus transferred all the cases to the Supreme Court for a
special hearing and the final hearing has been posted for November 1st, 2015. It has sought the
parties to address the following issues:
a. Whether the NGT has suo motu powers?
b. Whether there was a criminal violation of mining license and whether it caused the
environmental degradation?
[If there are criminal violations, the Court is interested in hearing which legislations
have been violated and it also would like to hear arguments to see if these violations are
criminal or merely contractual in nature]
c. Whether the mining in the area is against environmental safety and violates the rights of
the tribal people?
[The Court wishes to hear scientific arguments on the validity and impact of the New
Mining Deal, 2015 permitting a license in the area]
13. After passing the orders, in the evening the Supreme Court gave the following notification:
It is hereby ordered that the Petitioners shall be M/s. Marvolo Mining Company and the
Central Government of the Republic of Minas Tirith. The Respondents shall be the State
of East Pradesh represented by the SEIAA, Mr. Percival Brian. If any of the parties
The political structure, legal system and legislation of the Republic of Minas Tirith are in
pari materia with that of the Republic of India.
ii.
The list of issues is merely illustrative. Parties may feel free to construct their own issues
and present arguments for the same which may enable the Supreme Court to render a
final and binding decision.
iii.
The judgments of any Indian Court may have persuasive value. The judgments delivered
by 3 judges or higher of the Supreme Court of India shall be binding.
DISCLAIMER:
The material in the Moot Proposition is not intended to and does not attempt to resemble any
incident or any person living or dead. All material in the problem is fictitious and any
resemblance to any incident or person, if any, is not intended, but merely co-incidental.
Participants shall e-mail the duly filled and signed Soft Copy (scanned copy) of
the Registration Form (Annexure-I) as well as the scanned copy of the Demand
Draft for Rs. 3,500/- to probonoenviro2015@gmail.com on or before 6th
October, 2015, 11:59 PM. The Demand Draft shall be drawn in favour of The
Registrar, The Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University, Chennai
600028, payable at Chennai.
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The Hard Copy of the said Registration Form and the original Demand Draft shall
reach the Organising Committee on or before 9th October, 2015, 11:59 PM via
Speed Post or Courier. The address for correspondence is as specified in Rule
9.1.
c. Upon completion of the above steps, the duly filled Travel Form (Annexure-II) is to be emailed to probonoenviro2015@gmail.com on or before 12th October, 2015, 11:59 PM.
d. Teams that have completed Registration in accordance with the above shall be assigned a
Team Code on or before 13th October, 2015, 11:59 PM. Henceforth, all correspondence
to the Organising Committee shall specify only the Team Code.
e. No alteration in the Team Composition shall be permitted after the receipt of the
Registration Form, except at the sole discretion of the Organising Committee.
For Gentlemen - Western Formals (White formal shirt with black formal pants
and a black blazer); and
ii.
For Ladies - Western Formals (White formal shirt with black formal pants/black
formal skirt and a black blazer) or Indian Formals (white kurta with black pants
and either a black waistcoat or black blazer).
c. On other occasions while on campus, participants may wear casuals or formals at their
convenience.
2. CLARIFICATIONS
Clarifications to the Moot Proposition and the Rules regarding submission of the Memorandum
shall be sought by sending an e-mail to probonoenviro2015@gmail.com on or before 15th
October, 2015, 11:59 PM. Clarifications sent after this date shall not be entertained at any cost.
The List of Clarifications shall be released on 18th October, 2015.
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ii.
Only white A4 sized paper shall be used for all other pages. Use of recycled
papers is encouraged.
iii.
The Memorandums shall be printed on both sides. Each side shall be counted as
one page.
iv.
The Memorandums shall be staple bound with two/three staples on the left
margin. No other form of binding shall be accepted. The use of plastic/cellophane
sheets or films shall attract penalties.
v.
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Use of authority/precedents
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Style of Presentation
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Originality
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Relief sought
PENALTY
Violation of Anonymity
Disqualification
4. ORAL ROUNDS
4.1 GENERAL PROCEDURE:
a. Teams are requested to bring their appropriate institution ID cards along with the six (6)
hard copies of the Memorandums for each side to be submitted during the formal
registration on 30th October, 2015.
b. The language to be used during the Rounds is English.
c. The Competition shall consist of the following rounds:
i.
ii.
Advanced Rounds:
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Petitioner Speaker 1
ii.
Petitioner Speaker 2
iii.
Respondent Speaker 1
iv.
Respondent Speaker 2
v.
vi.
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The maximum time for arguments per side shall be the same as in the
Preliminary Rounds.
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The top four (4) teams from the Quarter-finals shall advance to the Semi-finals.
4.6.2 SEMI-FINALS
i.
Each side shall get a maximum time of 45 minutes to present their arguments of
which no Speaker shall be permitted to address the Court for more than 25
minutes. The time limit is inclusive of the time for Rebuttal or Sur-rebuttal
respectively. The maximum time for Rebuttal is 5 minutes and the maximum time
for Sur-rebuttal is 2 minutes.
ii.
The top two (2) teams from the Semi-finals shall advance to the Finals.
4.6.3 FINALS
i.
The maximum time for arguments per side shall be the same as in the Semifinals.
ii.
The winner of the Final Round shall be declared the Winner of the Competition.
iii.
The Best Speaker in the Finals shall be determined based on the individual scores
of the Speakers in the Finals.
4.7 SCOUTING:
a. Scouting is strictly prohibited.
b. Any person may submit a complaint regarding Scouting to the Organising Committee.
c. Teams found scouting shall be disqualified immediately.
4.8 DELAYS IN APPEARANCE/PRESENTATION:
If a team scheduled to take part in a Round does not appear within 10 minutes of the scheduled
time, the other team present shall be allowed to submit ex-parte.
5. RESEARCHERS TEST
a. The Researchers Test shall be conducted on the 30th of October, 2015 as per the
Tentative Schedule.
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HOSPITALITY
https://www.facebook.com/Moot-Court-Association-School-of-Excellence-in-Law-
201136933274208/timeline/
Website: www.mcasoel13.webs.com
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ANNEXURE - I
REGISTRATION FORM
(Please fill in Capital Letters)
INSTITUTION DETAILS
NAME OF THE INSTITUTION/COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY: __________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
ADDRESS OF THE INSTITUTION/COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY: _______________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
CONTACT NO.: _______________________ E-MAIL ID: _______________________________
PASSPORT SIZE
PHOTOGRAPH OF
SPEAKER 1
PASSPORT SIZE
PHOTOGRAPH OF
SPEAKER 2
PASSPORT SIZE
PHOTOGRAPH OF
RESEARCHER
PLACE:
DATE:
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ANNEXURE - II
TRAVEL FORM
(Please fill in Capital Letters)
DETAILS OF ARRIVAL
MODE OF TRANSPORT (AIR/RAIL/ROAD): __________________________________________
STATION OF ARRIVAL: __________________________________________________________
FLIGHT/TRAIN/BUS NAME & NO.: _________________________________________________
DATE & TIME OF ARRIVAL: ______________________________________________________
DETAILS OF DEPARTURE
MODE OF TRANSPORT (AIR/RAIL/ROAD): __________________________________________
STATION OF DEPARTURE: ________________________________________________________
FLIGHT/TRAIN/BUS NAME & NO.: _________________________________________________
DATE & TIME OF DEPARTURE: ___________________________________________________
ANY OTHER DETAILS CONCERNING ACCOMMODATION & TRAVEL:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Closest Airport: Chennai International Airport, Domestic Terminal (MAA)
Closest Train Stations: Chennai Central Railway Station (MAS); Chennai Egmore Railway
Station (MS).
There are several drop-off and pick-up points for the Bus service. Specify the relevant one.
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TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
DATE
TIME
24.09.2015
EVENT
Release of Official Invite, Moot Proposition, Rules &
Regulations, and Tentative Schedule
REGISTRATION FORMALITIES
30.09.2015
11:59 PM
Provisional Registration
06.10.2015
11:59 PM
09.10.2015
11:59 PM
12.10.2015
11:59 PM
Travel Form
13.10.2015
15.10.2015
11:59 PM
18.10.2015
11:59 PM
23.10.2015
11:59 PM
26.10.2015
11:59 PM
30.10.2015
31.10.2015
Lunch
Results of Preliminary Rounds
Draw of Lots & Exchange of Memorandum for Quarter-finals
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Lunch
Final Round
Valedictory & Prize Distribution
Dinner
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ORGANISING COMMITTEE
I.
FACULTY CO-ORDINATORS
Dr. R. Srinivasan
DDE & Chief Co-ordinator
Dr. D. Umamaheswari
Assistant Professor
II.
PRESIDENT
VICE-PRESIDENT
Vadhana Bhaskar
SECRETARY
ADDITIONAL SECRETARY
Anbarasi G.
Ashwin Kumaar M.
JOINT SECRETARIES
Ashwathy Nair S.
Ranjana G.
YEAR REPRESENTATIVES
Sri Ramya
T. Shrinikethan
Divya Ranjani
Chindan K.
Sudharsana Manivannan
Bhargavi Kannan
V. Shathurthi Raja
Divya R.
Pooja Damodaren
III.
AD HOC COMMITTEE TO THE MOOT COURT ASSOCIATION FOR THE 9TH PRO BONO
Shloka Narayanan
Amritha Sathyajith
Anugraha B. Sridhar
L. Sruthi
T. Poornima Devi
Romita Sekar
Swadhi Subramaniam
Kripa Sankari
Saitanya K.
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