9th Surana & Surana and School of Law, Raffles University Labour Law Moot Court Competition 2026-27 (Virtual, Nov 13-15; Prizes Worth Rs 42,200; Register by Oct 22)

The School of Law, Raffles University, Neemrana, together with Surana & Surana International Attorneys, Chennai, is holding the 9th Surana & Surana and School of Law, Raffles University Labour Law Moot Court Competition 2026-27. The rounds will be held virtually from 13 to 15 November 2026. The competition is conducted in English.

According to the rules, the competition is meant to build a systematic understanding of labour law and to train participants for practice. It also aims to develop the law through jurisprudential analysis, while sharpening research, writing and advocacy skills.

A technology company deploys an AI-based workplace monitoring and workforce management system, OptiWork 360, and refuses to disclose the algorithm. After the head of the employees' union raises concerns, she and other union office-bearers are dismissed over a leak of confidential information. The industrial reference and the constitutional challenges to the government's Strategic Digital Enterprises (Workplace Security and Monitoring) Guidelines, 2025 are now before a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court of Aaryavrat. The issues framed are:

• Whether deploying and using OptiWork 360 is legally sustainable given employees' rights to privacy, dignity and informational autonomy.
• Whether algorithmic profiling that allegedly disadvantages employees returning from maternity leave and employees with disabilities amounts to discrimination and an unfair labour practice, and how far the independent expert's report can be relied on.
• Whether the collection and use of employee data interfered with freedom of association and trade union activities.
• Whether the disciplinary proceedings and dismissal of the union office-bearers are sustainable, or amount to discrimination, victimisation or an unfair labour practice.
• Whether the 2025 Guidelines have the legal authority and validity to regulate AI-based workplace monitoring and the employer-employee relationship.

The laws of Aaryavrat are pari materia with the laws of India. Teams may add or modify issues and sub-issues as long as the basic premise stays the same.

• Open to bona fide students of 5-year and 3-year law programmes in India.
• Only one team per college, university or institution.
• Each team has a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 3 members. This cannot be changed under any circumstances.
• Each team designates 2 Speakers and 1 Researcher. The Researcher may argue only if a designated Speaker is ill, and only with the permission of the court and the Chief Administrator.
• Registration is capped at 30 teams, admitted on a first-come, first-served basis.

• Register online at moot.in between 1 September and 22 October 2026. Select the Raffles University Labour Law moot on the registration form.
• Put together one PDF containing (i) the filled Registration Form cum Approval Letter from the rules and (ii) a scanned authorisation letter, signed and sealed by your university, college or moot society. Instead of the scanned letter, the institution may send an email from its official id (the notification email given during online registration).
• The signatory must be the Faculty-in-charge of the MCA, MCS or MCC, the Registrar, Dean, Principal, Director, Chancellor or Vice-Chancellor.
• Email the PDF to ai@lawindia.com with a copy to mcc@rafflesuniversity.edu.in by 22 October 2026. Use the subject line “9th Surana & Surana and School of Law, Raffles University, Labour Law Moot Court Competition, 2026-27 - Registration”.
• You will receive an automated acknowledgement, and approval of your participation by 23 October 2026 or earlier. The host university then allots a provisional team code, which is used only for emailing the memorials.
• The organisers do not accept temporary registration requests.

The registration fee is Rs 2,000. Pay it by online transfer, UPI, Paytm or Google Pay to Raffles University (a UPI QR code is also provided). The fee is due by 22 October 2026 and will not be refunded.

The bank details and the UPI QR code are in the official rules. In the payment remarks, give the student's name and the college or institution name.

Email the payment reference number, the payment date and a scanned copy of the receipt to mcc@rafflesuniversity.edu.in. Your registration is complete only once you do this. If a team drops out or is disqualified, the next team in line from the registration list may be offered its place at short notice. That team must submit memorials at least 3 days before the competition.

• Memorials are required for both the Appellant and the Respondent. Email them to mcc@rafflesuniversity.edu.in, with a copy to ai@lawindia.com, by 5:00 PM on 30 October 2026.
• Late memorials lose 4 points per memorial per day. They are accepted only until 5:00 PM on 31 October 2026.
• Use the email subject “Team Code- Memorial Submission”. Send both memorials in Word and PDF format, as two separate attachments in the same email, named “Team Code- Memorial for Appellant” and “Team Code- Memorial for Respondent”.
• Required contents: table of contents, index of authorities, statement of jurisdiction, statement of facts (1 page, not argumentative), statement of issues, summary of arguments (maximum 1 page), arguments advanced (maximum 15 pages) and prayer.
• Format: Times New Roman 12 pt with 1.5 line spacing. Footnotes in 10 pt, single-spaced, with a double space between footnotes, cited in OSCOLA 4th edition. Use one-inch margins, page numbers at the top right, a light blue cover for the Appellant and a light red cover for the Respondent.
• The similarity index must not exceed 15%. Teams that use generative AI tools are responsible for any fictitious or fabricated sources, and the Organising Committee will verify the authorities cited.
• No revisions are allowed after submission. The memorials must not reveal the institution's identity in any way.
• A compendium of up to 50 pages with a white cover is optional. It must be submitted together with the memorials.

• The Orientation, draw of lots and exchange of memorials take place on 13 November 2026. Competition team codes and sides are allotted at the Orientation.
• On 14 November, each team argues two Preliminary Rounds, once for each side. These are followed by the Octa-Finals (held if more than 24 teams take part) and the Quarter-Finals (held if more than 16 teams take part). The Semi-Finals and Final are on 15 November.
• In the Preliminary Rounds, Octa-Finals and Quarter-Finals, each team gets 30 minutes including rebuttal, with 10 to 15 minutes per speaker. In the Semi-Finals and Final, each team gets 45 minutes, with 20 to 25 minutes per speaker.
• Preliminary Rounds are ranked on win points, then win points plus aggregate raw points (oral and memorial scores). Memorial marks count only in the Preliminary Rounds.
• Oral rounds are marked out of 100 and each memorial out of 100. Scouting leads to disqualification.

• Oral rounds are held on Cisco Webex. Participants must join from a laptop or desktop, not from any other device.
• Every team needs a stable internet connection and a quiet room with a desk. Open spaces, hallways and cybercafes are not allowed. Cameras stay on throughout, and non-speakers stay on mute.
• Dress code: black trousers or skirt, white shirt, black blazer and black necktie. Nothing may identify the team's institution.
• Teams must join 20 minutes before their scheduled time. A team that does not appear within 10 minutes of the scheduled time will have the round proceed ex parte.
• Speakers and researchers may join from the same room, but each must use a separate device.