2nd NLST Moot Court Competition 2026

The 2nd NLST Moot Court Competition 2026 is organised by the Noida Legal Service Trust (NLST) and focuses on the intersection of new criminal laws and constitutional principles. As countries modernise their criminal justice frameworks, the moot invites participants to engage with the balance between due criminal process and the fundamental rights of both victims and the accused, including issues of circumstantial and electronic evidence, procedural irregularities during investigation, and the judiciary's role in interpreting new criminal laws against constitutional protections.

Noida Legal Service Trust (NLST) is a registered NGO dedicated to advancing legal awareness and access to justice across India, guided by Mr. Preetam Awana and operating through a nationwide network of advocates, young lawyers, and law students. NLST has previously organised the NLST RTI Drafting Competition and the 1st NLST Moot Court Competition.

All students enrolled in a three (3)-year LL.B. programme or a five (5)-year integrated law programme are eligible to participate. Students enrolled in postgraduate or diploma courses are not eligible. Only two teams per institution are eligible to participate; in case of multiple registrations from the same institution, the team authorised by a letter from the head/dean of the institution or moot court committee shall be eligible to register. Each team comprises 2 speakers and 1 researcher.

The competition is conducted online and includes Preliminary and Quarter Final rounds followed by Semi Final and Final rounds. Adjudication is done by High Court Benches. Professional dress code and compliance with the competition's ethics manual are mandatory. Teams must submit memorials as per the released proposition; only teams selected after memorial evaluation proceed to the oral rounds.

Each team (2 speakers + 1 researcher) must pay Rs. 800 towards memorial checking at the time of registration. Only teams selected after memorial evaluation are required to pay the remaining Rs. 1,600 as the registration fee, bringing the total to Rs. 2,400 per team. Registration and payment are through the official NLST competition page.

The competition carries a total cash prize pool of Rs. 15,000 across winner, runner-up, best speaker and best memorial categories. Top performers are also offered direct entry to NLST research fellowships.