The National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, won the closely contested south zonal round of the 14th Henry Dunant Memorial Moot Competition in India. The team from NALSAR, Hyderabad, were the runners-up. The Best Advocate award was won by Rohan Diwan of NALSAR, Hyderabad; the Best Researcher award was given to the National University of Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS), Kerala; the Best Memorial award was conferred on NALSAR.
Eleven teams participated from the South Zone, of which eight have qualified for the National Round to be held in August in New Delhi. The competition, organized by the ICRC regional delegation in New Delhi and the Indian Society of International Law annually, is aimed at creating greater sensitisation to international humanitarian law (IHL) among students.
The moot problem, which was set against a fictitious case involving issues of sexual violence, war crimes, private military companies, new weapons and many more such issues, provided a challenging platform for students to hone their research skills. The participating teams displayed a dynamic and spirited exchange of legal opinions and arguments.
A new format has been introduced in the Henry Dunant Memorial Moot Competition 2014 with two qualifying zonal rounds — south and north — leading to a grand finale. The south zonal round was organized from 18-20 July, 2014, in partnership with the Department of Legal Studies, University of Madras, Chennai. The north zonal round will be held in partnership with Institute of Law, NIRMA University, Gujarat, from 1-3 August 2014. Winners from the North and South Zones will participate in the India Nationals Round. The teams that win the India National Rounds will compete in the Henry Dunant Regional Moot Court against teams from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Iran.
International humanitarian law is a set of rules which seek, for humanitarian reasons, to limit the effects of armed conflict. This law protects persons who are not or are no longer participating in the hostilities and restricts the means and methods of warfare. IHL is also known as the law of war or the law of armed conflict.
More resources:
14th Henry Dunant Memorial Moot Competition announced
Kathmandu Law School wins 10th Henry Dunant Moot Court competition in Nepal
ICRC New Delhi