2nd Vidhi Vaarta Construction Arbitration Law Moot Court Competition, 2026

The Centre for Legal Simulations and Research (CLSR) is a sub-division of Vidhi Vaarta, SRTD Group, set up to advance clinical legal education, experiential learning and professional legal training through the practical application of legal principles. CLSR runs moot court competitions, mock trial and advocacy competitions, ADR tournaments, national and international legal conferences, certificate courses, training programmes and legal podcasts.

Vidhi Vaarta describes itself as a professional and academic forum working to bridge the gap between legal academia and the legal profession, supported by a nationwide network of student coordinators and campus ambassadors. It is led by Dr. Soumi Chatterjee (Chairperson and Founder), Advocate Md. Raashid Ali (Director and Co-Founder) and Advocate Madhav Goswami (Head, CLSR).

This edition is organised in association with Saxenas and Kumar Law Chambers LLP, a consulting and litigation firm incorporated in April 2019. Spincto is the IT and Outreach Partner, the Doon Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (DJMR) is the Publication Partner, and Knowledge Steez is the Media Partner.

The 2nd Vidhi Vaarta Construction Arbitration Law Moot Court Competition, 2026 is CLSR's flagship advocacy event and is scheduled from 6 November 2026 to 8 November 2026 in virtual mode. It is dedicated exclusively to construction and infrastructure disputes, arbitration and dispute resolution, public procurement, and commercial and contract law.

The proposition traverses the intersection of construction, infrastructure and arbitration law, and raises issues including:

• Additional works executed without a formal Variation Order
• No Dues Certificates and final settlement
• Accord and satisfaction
• Economic duress
• Contractual authority
• Governmental procurement frameworks and internal financial regulations
• Quasi-contractual claims
• The constitution and jurisdiction of the Arbitral Tribunal under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996

Adjudication is by arbitration law practitioners, corporate legal professionals, law firm professionals, practising advocates, arbitrators and academicians. The proposition is fictitious and does not resemble any incident or person.

All students duly enrolled in a bona fide undergraduate (three-year or five-year) or postgraduate law course offered by any recognised college or university are eligible to participate.

Participating teams are drawn from colleges within Indian territory and include any team consisting of Indian participants that has registered under the prescribed procedure.

A team shall comprise a maximum of three members and a minimum of two. In a three-member team, two members are designated Speakers and the third is the Researcher. In a two-member team, both are Speakers and one of them must additionally be designated the Researcher. Once memorials have been submitted, no change in team composition will be entertained except in cases of medical emergency or at the organisers' discretion.

Registration opened on 15 August 2026 and closes on 10 October 2026. Teams register by filling out the official registration form and paying the registration fee in the prescribed manner.

• Early bird registration fee: Rs 3,000 per team, applicable for registrations made up to 30 September 2026
• Standard registration fee: Rs 3,600 per team, applicable from 1 October 2026 until the final deadline of 10 October 2026
• The fee, once paid, is non-refundable under any circumstances

The registration form asks for the name of the institution and the official email id of the institution's moot court committee or society, and carries the organisers' bank transfer details for payment of the fee. Registered teams are allotted an anonymous team code within 15 days of registration.

Each team must prepare memorials for both sides, that is, for the Appellant/Petitioner and for the Respondent. Memorials are to be submitted only in soft copy, in both PDF and DOCX format, through the memorial submission form by 3 November 2026. Late submission attracts a penalty.

Each memorial must contain a cover page, table of contents, index of authorities, statement of jurisdiction, statement of facts (not exceeding two pages), statement of issues, summary of arguments (not exceeding two pages), arguments advanced (not exceeding twenty pages) and relief (not exceeding one page). No memorial may exceed forty pages in total.

• Standard A4 size paper; margin of one inch on each side
• Font: Times New Roman, size 12, spacing 1.5
• Footnotes: Times New Roman, size 10, spacing 1.0
• Citations in Bluebook (21st edition) or OSCOLA (4th edition)
• Footnotes must carry only relevant citations; explanatory or illustrative footnotes are not permitted
• No annexures, photographs, graphs, diagrams or similar representations

The cover page may carry only the team code (upper-right corner), the name and place of the forum, the relevant legal provision under which the memorial is filed, the names and status of the parties, and on whose behalf it is filed. File naming follows the pattern Team01 T01C for the Claimant memorial and Team01 T01R for the Respondent memorial. Memorials are exchanged between opposing teams before every round.

Memorials are marked out of 100: application and appreciation of facts (20), structuring and presentation of arguments (25), application of legal principles, authorities and judicial precedents (25), ingenuity and logical reasoning (10), lucidity and writing skills (10), and footnoting and formatting (10).

The competition runs over three days across four rounds: two Preliminary Rounds, a Quarter Final, a Semi Final and the Final. Every team appears twice in the Preliminary Rounds, once as Appellant/Petitioner and once as Respondent, and no two teams meet more than once at that stage. The top eight teams on aggregate score advance to the Quarter Final, which and all subsequent rounds are knock-out. Ties are broken on memorial scores. All rounds are conducted exclusively in English.

• Preliminary Rounds: 30 minutes per team including rebuttal and sur-rebuttal, with 10 minutes minimum and 20 minutes maximum per speaker
• Quarter Final and Semi Final: 45 minutes per team, with 20 minutes minimum and 25 minutes maximum per speaker
• Final: 60 minutes per team, with 25 minutes minimum and 35 minutes maximum per speaker
• Rebuttal time may not be reserved beyond 5 minutes and may not be split between speakers

Oral submissions are scored on knowledge of law and use of authorities and precedents (30), application of law to facts (30), ingenuity and ability to answer questions (20), style, poise, courtesy and demeanour (10), and time management and organisation (10). The Researcher sits with the Speakers but may not address the bench at any point. Compendiums may be presented only if the bench permits, and the Court Master must be informed in advance.

Teams must represent themselves solely through their allotted team code. No memorial, compendium or other material may carry any sign, logo or name revealing the identity of the team, the college or its members, and participants may not disclose their own or their institution's identity during the rounds even if asked by the judges.

Memorial penalties include 5 marks for disclosure of team identity, 1 mark per page for exceeding the page limit, 0.25 mark for each formatting violation, and 2 marks per day for late submission. Plagiarism up to 10 per cent of the word count carries no penalty; more than 10 and up to 15 per cent carries 5 marks; more than 15 and up to 20 per cent carries 10 marks; and beyond 20 per cent, 20 marks.

In the oral rounds, use of participant names or institutional affiliation leads to disqualification, and switching off video during proceedings costs 15 marks individually. Delay of more than five minutes in appearing for a round results in disqualification for that round, and the opponent argues ex parte.

The dress code is a white formal shirt, black blazer and black formal trousers for all participants, with a black tie for male participants; female participants may alternatively wear Indian formals, being a white solid design-free kurti with a black blazer.

Total awards exceed Rs 25,000, with cash prizes and trophies for the Winner, Runner Up, Best Mooter, Best Researcher and Best Memorial. The individual awards are set out in the rewards section below.

Beyond the competitive awards, the organisers state that meritorious participants receive publication opportunities in the Doon Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (DJMR), and that every participant, regardless of competitive standing, is entitled to a substantial fee concession on upcoming workshops and certificate courses organised with Saxenas and Kumar Law Chambers LLP.

Every participating team receives an e-certificate of participation. All e-certificates are issued within six weeks of the event and sent to the registered email ids of the participants.

Complete the official registration form and pay the applicable fee by 10 October 2026. Requests for clarifications to the moot proposition must be submitted through the separate clarification form no later than 15 October 2026; requests after that date will not be entertained, and clarifications are released on 17 October 2026.

All correspondence, including complaints regarding any participating team or the conduct of the competition, is to be addressed to the organising committee at mcc.vidhivaarta@gmail.com. The organisers reserve the right to interpret and alter the rules, and their decisions on disputes are final and binding.