1st Birla Mediation Competition 2026, Birla School of Law, Bhubaneswar [Hybrid; Cash Prizes Rs 20,000]

Birla School of Law, Birla Global University, Bhubaneswar, invites registrations for the first edition of the national-level Birla Mediation Competition 2026, organised in honour of the University's founders, Late B. K. Birla and Late Sarala Birla. The competition is meant as a practical platform for students to develop and demonstrate mediation, negotiation, communication, client counselling, problem-solving and collaborative dispute-resolution skills, with the emphasis on principled dialogue, party autonomy, confidentiality, relationship preservation and the search for mutually acceptable solutions.

The competition runs in hybrid mode. The Preliminary Rounds (3 October 2026) and Quarter-Finals (5 October 2026) are held online, and the Semi-Finals and Final are held on 30 October 2026 at the Birla Global University campus in Bhubaneswar.

Birla Global University is a private university established under the Birla Global University Odisha Act, 2015, on a 30-acre campus at Gothapatna, Bhubaneswar, with the Governor of Odisha as its Chancellor. Birla School of Law was set up in 2018 and offers teaching in law and interdisciplinary studies, with students active in moot courts, trial advocacy and legal aid. The competition is run by the School's ADR Cell.

Students enrolled in three-year or five-year integrated law degree programmes at any university, law school, college or department are eligible. Multiple teams may participate from the same institution, and each participating institution must ensure that its registered participants meet the eligibility requirements.

• Each team has three members: one Mediator, one Client and one Counsel.
• The Client and Counsel together form the Negotiating Team; the Mediator competes as an individual and is scored separately, so the Negotiating Team's performance does not affect the Mediator's score.
• Teams decide internally who takes which role and communicate the allocation as the Organising Committee directs.
• A change of team members must be sent in writing to the Dean, Birla School of Law, through the head of the participating institution, and is allowed only once. No change is allowed after the competition begins.

• Preliminary Rounds (online, 3 October 2026): each team takes part in one mediation session as either the Requesting or the Responding Party. Session slots are allotted 72 hours in advance. The top 8 Negotiating Teams and top 8 Mediators advance.
• Quarter-Finals (online, 5 October 2026): knock-out; the top 4 Negotiating Teams and top 4 Mediators advance.
• Semi-Finals (BGU campus, 30 October 2026): knock-out; the top 2 Negotiating Teams and top 2 Mediators advance.
• Final (BGU campus, 30 October 2026): the two Negotiating Teams compete for Negotiating Team Champion and the two Mediators for Mediator Champion.

Each session allows 30 minutes of mediation followed by 10 minutes of feedback and scoring, with a caucus of up to 5 minutes on request. The mediation room has one or more judges, two mediators drawn from opposing teams, the requesting and responding parties with their counsel, and session supervisors. The brochure also carries a draft evaluation rubric, marked as awaiting the Organising Committee's approval, covering opening and role clarity, active listening, issue and interest identification, negotiation and option generation, process management, creativity and reality testing, and professionalism.

The proposition, Khansar Unilever Limited v. Quick Living (I) Private Limited (ROKO), titled "The War on What's Hidden", is a commercial advertising dispute published in the brochure. It concerns a comparative advertising campaign that allegedly disparaged a competitor's detergent and cleaning products, and raises issues of trademark use, substantiation of health claims, independent scientific testing, treatment of pending litigation before the Delhi High Court, compensation and future dispute-resolution mechanisms. The facts are a fictionalised competition adaptation of publicly reported proceedings.

• Participants must not state their names or disclose their institution during the rounds and must use the assigned team code; breaching anonymity may lead to immediate disqualification.
• Mediators must remain neutral and facilitate party-driven dialogue rather than impose a decision; caucus information stays confidential unless the disclosing party permits otherwise.
• Scouting, approaching the problem framers or judges, and interfering with another team's session are prohibited.
• Dress code is Western formals (white shirt, black trousers or skirt, black blazer, and a black tie for men) or, for women, Indian formals (white kurta, black salwar and black dupatta with a black blazer). Robes and collar bands are not permitted.
• The official language is English.

• Registration fee: Rs 1,000 per team, to be paid by 30 September 2026 through the payment QR code in the brochure (Birla Global University, Bhubaneswar). Keep the payment receipt or transaction confirmation and submit it as the organisers require.
• The registration fee is non-refundable if a team withdraws after payment.
• Teams qualifying for the Semi-Finals and Final may take accommodation on 30 October 2026 for an additional Rs 2,000 per team, payable by 23 October 2026 and subject to availability.
• The organisers arrange transport between the accommodation and the venue. Teams must make their own way to and from the airport, railway station or bus terminal, and teams not using organiser accommodation make their own transport arrangements.

Complete the official Google Form registration and pay the Rs 1,000 team fee by 30 September 2026. Queries about the mediation problem were to be sent to bsol.event@bgu.ac.in by 23 September 2026; teams should rely only on official communications from the Organising Committee for changes to dates, timings, room allocation or procedure.