8th SRM National Tamil Moot Court Competition 2026 at SRM School of Law, Kattankulathur (Oct 9-11; Tamil-language; Cash Prizes Rs 57,000; Register by Oct 5)

SRM School of Law, SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST), invites law colleges to the 8th National Tamil Moot Court Competition 2026 (எட்டாம் ஆண்டு தேசிய அளவிலான தமிழ் வழக்குவாதப்போட்டி), to be held on 9, 10 and 11 October 2026 at the Kattankulathur campus. The language of the competition is Tamil: all rounds and all memorials must be in Tamil only.

SRM School of Law was established in 2014. The brochure notes that SRMIST holds an A++ grade from NAAC and that SRM School of Law was ranked 25th in India in NIRF 2025. The school offers the three-year LL.B., the five-year integrated LL.B. and the LL.M. The competition is held under the patronage of Dr. Y.S.R. Murthy, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Law), and Prof. (Dr.) Indranath Gupta, Dean, with Mrs. P. Logapriya (Assistant Professor) as Faculty Coordinator and Mr. M. Jai Ganesh (Assistant Professor) as Co-Coordinator. The All India Reporter (AIR) is associated with the event.

The problem is set in the fictional democratic country of Puthuvalam. The Sempon river rises in the western hills of the State of Varthana and flows south-east through the State of Mahizhanadu to the sea. Varthana is the upper riparian State, while Mahizhanadu, the State of Seramalai and the Union Territory of Muthur form the lower basin. After a long-running dispute between Varthana and Mahizhanadu, a tribunal constituted under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 allocated the waters in 2007, and in 2018 the Supreme Court of Puthuvalam modified parts of that award on appeal by both States. The dispute that follows raises questions of water allocation and regulation, large water infrastructure, environmental impact, forest and wildlife conservation, and the rights of downstream States and the Union Territory.

• Teams must frame their own issues from the facts, and each team must present exactly four issues.
• The laws of Puthuvalam are treated as identical to Indian law, so the Constitution of India, 1950, the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and allied environmental and water laws and policies apply.

• Open to students pursuing a three-year LL.B. or a five-year integrated LL.B. programme.
• A maximum of two teams per college or university.
• Each team has two Student Advocates and one Researcher only.
• No change in team composition is allowed after registration.
• All oral rounds and memorials must be in Tamil only.
• Teams must not reveal their own or their institution's identity at any time, including through any identity card. Doing so leads to immediate disqualification. Participants must follow courtroom procedure and etiquette, failing which they may be disqualified without notice.
• Dress code: the student advocate's court attire.

• Registration fee: Rs 3,000 per team, payable only by NEFT. The fee is not refundable under any circumstances.
• Bank details: Indian Bank, SRM University, Kattankulathur; Account name: SRM SCHOOL OF LAW; Account no. 6314094173; IFSC: IDIB000S181.
• Registration opened on 10 September 2026 and closes at 5:00 PM on 5 October 2026.
• Register through the Google Form. Upload the registration form and the declaration form from the Principal of your institution (both are in the brochure), along with the NEFT transaction receipt.

• The memorial must include a cover page, list of cases, list of abbreviations, statement of jurisdiction, statement of issues, summary of arguments, arguments advanced and prayer.
• Soft copy due on 6 October 2026. Six hard copies are submitted at on-site registration on 9 October 2026.
• Format: Latha font, size 12, line spacing 1.15, maximum 30 pages. Blue cover for the Petitioner's memorial and red for the Respondent's.
• Memorials are marked out of 70 by a panel of experienced judges on clarity of facts, quality of research, legal analysis, use of precedents, structure, jurisdiction, issues and arguments, and prayer.
• Penalties: 2 marks per memorial for the first 12 hours of delay and 1 mark for every further 6 hours; 1 mark per memorial for a wrong cover page; 1 mark for each page over the limit; 1 mark for not following the prescribed contents or adding unnecessary content; 0.5 mark per page for wrong font size or spacing; and 2 marks per memorial for a wrong cover colour.

• Preliminary rounds: two rounds, with each team arguing once as Petitioner and once as Respondent, allotted by draw. Each round lasts 40 minutes, 20 minutes per team including rebuttal or surrebuttal, before two judges.
• The top eight teams from the preliminaries go to the quarter-finals, selected on total marks, with tie-breaks on rounds won, oral scores and then memorial scores.
• Quarter-finals: 60 minutes, 30 minutes per team, with no speaker allowed more than 15 minutes. Each speaker is marked out of 70.
• Semi-finals and final: knockout, 90 minutes with 45 minutes per side, before three judges in the semi-finals. No speaker may argue for more than 22 minutes in the semi-finals. Each speaker is marked out of 100.
• Oral marking covers framing of issues, legal analysis and use of legal terms and maxims, citing of authorities, clarity of facts, time management, answering the Bench and advocacy skills.
• Any rule not covered is decided by the Moot Court Organising Committee, whose decision is final.

• Food and accommodation are provided. Male and female participants are housed separately in the campus hostels.
• Accommodation runs from the night of 9 October 2026 to the morning of 12 October 2026, and food from the night of 9 October to 11 October 2026.
• Teams must make their own way to Potheri bus stop or Potheri railway station, from where a volunteer will take them to the accommodation.
• Every participant receives a certificate of appreciation.