In Verba Legis II: National Drafting Championship 2026 by Erode College of Law (Online; Transgender Justice; Cash Prizes up to Rs 5,000)

Erode College of Law is a legal education institution at No. 17, Erode Road, PCA College Campus, Perundurai, Erode, Tamil Nadu 638052. It is affiliated to The Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University, Chennai, and recognised by the Bar Council of India, New Delhi. Alongside its B.A. LL.B. and LL.B. programmes, the college runs practical training through jail and court visits, project work and lecture series, and periodically organises moot court competitions, crime scene investigation competitions and legal drafting competitions with judges and practitioners on the panel.

The championship is organised by the Research and Drafting Committee - ECL. The brochure names Dr. Akbar Ali Baig N. Md (Vice Principal), Hari Priyaa M, Vidhulla Bharani D and Iswariya V as faculty coordinators, with Dr. Vadivel M (HOD) and a wider organising committee of assistant professors supporting the event. Dr. S. Gajendraraj is the Principal of the college.

In Verba Legis II: National Drafting Championship 2026 is the second edition of the college's national legal drafting competition, conducted entirely in online mode. The registration portal carries the competition's sub-title Vox Identitatis (Voice of Identity), which also appears on the official poster.

The theme is "Penning a Dignified Tomorrow: Transgender Justice & India's Development". Participants are asked to draft Public Interest Litigations addressing the need for transgender justice in India, engaging with contemporary socio-legal debate and proposing workable legal interventions that uphold dignity, equality and health rights.

The brochure identifies four key areas to focus on:

• Legal Framework and Contemporary Debate
• Health and Well-being
• Religious and Cultural Perspectives
• Social Justice and Development

The problem proposition corresponding to the theme is not published in advance. It is communicated to each registered team individually by email once registration has been successfully completed, on 25 August 2026.

The competition is open to all law students enrolled in a three-year or five-year LL.B. programme at a Bar Council of India recognised university.

• Participants may register individually or in teams of two. Co-authorship is limited to one co-author.
• Each participant or team must make only one submission.
• On successful registration, each participant or team is allotted a unique team code, which is used for all further reference.
• Substitution of a team member is not permitted after the registration deadline, except in extraordinary circumstances and with the prior permission of the organisers.

The registration form requires each author and co-author to upload a college identity card (image, up to 10 MB) and a bonafide certificate or approval letter from the institution (PDF, up to 10 MB per file), along with the name of the course, institution, current year of study, WhatsApp number and email address for further communication.

The Public Interest Litigation is to be drafted as if filed before the Supreme Court of India, and must contain only the components listed below:

• Cover page, carrying the unique team code in the upper right-hand corner and the name of the case
• Table of Contents
• Table of Abbreviations
• Index of Authorities
• Statement of Jurisdiction
• Statement / Synopsis of the Facts
• Statement of Issues
• Summary of Arguments / Pleadings
• Arguments Advanced / Pleadings
• Prayer
• Table of Annexure

The memorial is restricted to a page limit of 10 to 12 pages and must be drafted in English only.

Every draft must be submitted in two formats: a Microsoft Word document (.doc or .docx) and a PDF. The plagiarism report must be attached as the first page of the memorial in the PDF version.

• Page size: A4 or legal size preferred
• Font throughout: Times New Roman
• Title: Times New Roman, size 14, bold, centre aligned, in capitals
• Headings: Times New Roman, size 14, bold, underlined, left aligned, in capitals
• Sub-headings: Times New Roman, size 12, bold and underlined
• Body text: Times New Roman, size 12, line spacing 1.5, justified alignment
• Footnotes: Times New Roman, size 10, single line spacing
• No borders, background colour, images or watermarks in the draft
• Citation style: authorities and references in the footnotes must follow the Indian Law Institute (ILI) citation style

Files should be named for easy identification, using the suggested convention "PIL Memorial of Team Code- [your allotted team code]".

All submitted memorials undergo a plagiarism and AI check. The accepted margins are up to 20% for plagiarism and 10% for AI content. Every memorial must be accompanied by a plagiarism report generated using Turnitin; reports from any other software will not be accepted or evaluated, and a memorial submitted without a report will be disqualified. If two or more participants or teams are found to have submitted identical memorials, both are disqualified.

Anonymity is strictly enforced: participants who disclose their name or particulars in the memorial will be disqualified. Marks are deducted on the following grounds:

• Breach of anonymity: disqualification
• Missing or incorrect section or provision: 2 marks each
• Missing or incorrect detail on the cover page: 1 mark each
• Incorrect font style in the main body: 1 mark per instance
• Incorrect line spacing in the main body: 1 mark per instance
• Incorrect font size in the main body: 1 mark per instance

Late submissions attract a penalty of 1 mark per hour beyond the deadline, and no submission is accepted more than 24 hours after the deadline under any circumstances.

Memorials are marked out of 100, across five criteria carrying 20 marks each:

• Proper and articulate analysis: 20 marks
• Extent and use of research: 20 marks
• Clarity and organisation: 20 marks
• Grammar and style of writing: 20 marks
• Correct format and citation: 20 marks

Registration is made through the official Google Form linked in the brochure, which is titled Vox Identitatis. The registration fee is:

• Single author: Rs 500
• Co-authored entry: Rs 650

The fee is paid to the college's bank account and the payment screenshot must be attached in the registration form. The account details published in the brochure are: account name Erode College of Law, ICICI Bank, account number 002505016599, IFSC ICIC0000025, MICR 638229004.

Registration opened on 12 August 2026 and closes on 24 August 2026.

All PIL memorials must be submitted by email to legaldraftingcommitteeecl@gmail.com on or before 11:59 pm on 7 September 2026. The subject line of the email must be formatted as: "PIL Memorial of Team Code- [team code]".

Results are announced on 21 September 2026, which the official poster describes as the jury's selection date.

An e-certificate is provided to all registered participants. Selected drafts are offered the opportunity to be published free of cost in the Sai Sindhu International Journal of Research (ISSN 3107-5010), a peer-reviewed open-access journal named in the brochure; publication is an option offered to selected entries, not a guaranteed award.

One caution on the published schedule: the brochure lists the "last date of seeking clarification" as 31/09/2026, a date that does not exist. Clarifications are released on 3 September 2026, so teams should raise queries with the committee well before that date and confirm the cut-off directly with the coordinators.